Level 3 Qualification

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many 19 to 25-year-olds in Coventry South are studying for a first level 3 qualification.

Bill Rammell: In the academic year 2004/05 there were 269 19 to 25-year-olds in Coventry South studying for a full NVQ level 3 or equivalent qualification in further education and work-based learning.
	This does not include access to HE qualifications or wholly privately funded study aims.

Teachers Pension Scheme

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the projected annual increase in cost is to local education authorities of the proposed increase in the employers' contribution to the Teachers' Pension Scheme.

Bill Rammell: The proposed increase in employer contributions from January 2007 will add a maximum of 0.8 per cent. to the paybill of local authorities for all those teachers in membership of the Teachers' Pension Scheme. This cost increase has been more than covered in the levels of the minimum funding guarantee for 2006–07 and 2007–08, and by the increases in dedicated schools grant of 6 per cent. in 2006–07 and 6.4 per cent. in 2007–08.

Under-performing Colleges

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether under the proposals in the further education White Paper (Cm 6798) a local education authority would be permitted to take over responsibility for an under-performing college.

Bill Rammell: Local authorities and the LSC have crucial roles to play in delivering the reforms set out in the White Paper 'Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances', and must work together to drive progress through a shared strategy. The White Paper makes clear that we want local authorities to play a strategic leadership role, consistent with their leadership role in children's services overall, ensuring the integration of 14–19 reform with the wider agenda for children and young people in the locality. The Learning and Skills Council will be the primary partner for the local authority, and will use its funding and powers to secure high quality provision which meets the needs of learners and employers in every area. This will include providing opportunities for new and existing high quality providers to openly compete for provision.
	The White Paper sets out a robust approach to tackling underperformance which could culminate in the Learning and Skills Council ceasing to fund provision which does not improve; or requiring changes to governance or executive management.
	If a change in governance or leadership is required, this might include a stronger role for the relevant local authority at the invitation of the existing governing body.
	If funding is withdrawn, replacement provision is likely to be sourced by competition. No one model is expected to arise out of a competition to secure a replacement provider. It would be open to a local authority to participate in a competition if it wished to do so.

Development Funding

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding the Government have allocated to the (a) Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, (b) UN Economic Commission for Africa and (c) Pan-African Parliament for each of the next three years; what funding has been provided in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) sets out Africa leaders' priorities to help boost agricultural growth and food security at continental, regional and country levels. As the UK and other G8 countries only responded firmly to CAADP during 2005, no funds were explicitly allocated to it over the last three years. However, the response below identifies where DFID funding was consistent with the CAADP.
	At the country level, the CAADP commits African countries to spend 10 per cent. of their budgets on the agriculture sector. DFID's support to African country budgets will help them do this. However, detailed information on how budget support is allocated to sectors by Africa governments are not held centrally and to gather it would involve incurring a disproportionate cost.
	At the regional and continental levels, DFID provided around £80 million over the last three years for agricultural research, one of CAADP's four priorities. In the next three years, DFID has allocated around £85 million to agricultural research in Africa as part of its response to CAADP.
	In financial year 2005–06, DFID committed an additional £200,000 to design a programme of additional regional support under CAADP. This will clarify DFID's plans for additional regional work on CAADP over each of the coming three years. DFID has provided a total of £2,348,000 to the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UN-EGA) over the last three financial years (£1,000,000 in 2003–04, £673,121 in 2004–05 and £675,000 in 2005–06). DFID has recently been considering a contribution for the next three years with the Commission. However, this has been delayed whilst the UN-ECA re-examines its role in conjunction with the African Union and the African Development Bank, under the new leadership of Abdoulie Janneh. We expect the UN-ECA to be in a better position to discuss its future needs with donors after its Annual Meeting in May.
	No support has been given to the Pan African Parliament to date. However, DFID is currently discussing priorities for support with the Pan African Parliament. We hope to complete the design of a Pan African Parliament support programme over the coming months.

HIV/AIDS

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to increase the percentage of HIV positive pregnant women in Africa with access to (a) information, (b) drugs and (c) antenatal treatment to prevent transmission of the virus to their child.

Gareth Thomas: Access to prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services is unacceptably low in many sub Saharan African Countries where often less than 5 per cent. of pregnant women are able to access these services. The recent Secretary General's report to the UN reporting on progress for the past five years on AIDS, highlights that only 9 per cent. of HIV positive pregnant women in low and middle income countries have access to PMTCT services.
	DFID has been actively engaged in building international consensus, and as co-chair of the Global Steering Committee for the June 2006 HIV/AIDS UNGASS will be pressing for agreement on actions required to scale up services towards universal access to a comprehensive programme of prevention, treatment and care, including access to PMTCT by 2010 with a "Road Map" for future action.
	DFID believes that PMTCT is an important prevention measure which should form part of a comprehensive response to HIV prevention, and has encouraged partner countries to integrate PMTCT plans into maternal and child health and sexual and reproductive health services.
	DFID funds are not earmarked for PMTCT, but integrated within AIDS programmes. DFID also works through UN agencies at country level. For example, DFID is currently providing £4 million to
	"a universal access to HIV prevention programme with the Joint United Nations Programme for HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Rwanda".
	DFID is the second largest donor to UNICEF which is the lead UN agency responsible for PMTCT services under the global task force (GTT) arrangements.

Maternal Health

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he expects his Department to meet its public service agreement targets on maternal health.

Hilary Benn: I expect the 2005–08 public service agreement target on maternal health in Asia to be met by 2008. I do not, however, expect the target on maternal health in Africa, to be met by 2008. Progress against this target after 2008 will therefore be subject to further discussion during the next spending review.
	The target for Asia is to achieve an increase of 15 percentage points in the proportion of births assisted by skilled birth attendants. The latest estimate is 43 per cent. using data from 2001 to 2003, compared to 38 per cent. in 2000. If the current rate of progress continues, it is estimated that the target should just be achieved by 2008.
	The target for Africa is to achieve an increase in the proportion of births assisted by skilled birth attendants by 11 percentage points. The latest estimate is 47 per cent. and increases before 2008 are unlikely. DFID has not yet estimated when this will be achieved.
	Further detail on the latest progress against these and all public service agreements will be presented in the 2006 Departmental Report which will be laid before Parliament in the next few days.

Millennium Development Goals

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution the United Kingdom has made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals; and what recent assessment his Department has made of the time scale for the goals to be achieved.

Hilary Benn: The UK's contribution towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals is summarised in DFID's reports of progress towards the 2003–06 and 2005–08 public service agreements (PSAs). Those PSAs are based on the Millennium Development Goals. Progress was last reported in the 2005 Autumn Performance Report which was laid before Parliament in December 2005. Copies of this report are available in the Libraries of the House on the DFID website (www.dfid.gov.uk). Progress will also be reported in DFID's 2006 Departmental Report. This will be laid before Parliament within the next few days.
	DFID has not yet made an assessment of the time scale for each of the goals to be achieved in the period after 2008. The departmental report will however, summarise progress in the key countries in which DFID works.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which of its public service agreement targets his Department is furthest from meeting.

Hilary Benn: The most recent assessment of progress towards the public service agreements was outlined in DFID's Autumn Performance Report, which was laid before Parliament in December 2005. Progress will also be reported in DFID's departmental report. This will be laid before Parliament in the next few days.
	The six targets in the 2005–08 public service agreement that are currently furthest from being met are:
	an increase in the ratio of girls to boys enrolled in primary school by five percentage points in Africa;
	an increase in the proportion of births assisted by skilled birth attendants by 11 percentage points in Africa;
	an increase in net primary school enrolment by eight percentage points in Asia;
	a reduction in under-five mortality rates for girls and boys by 24 per 1,000 live births in Asia;
	a tuberculosis case detection rate above 70 per cent. in Asia;
	a greater impact of EC external programmes on poverty reduction and working for agreement to increase the proportion of EC official development assistance (oda) to low income countries from its 2000 baseline figure of 38 per cent. to 70 per cent. by 2008.

Incinerators

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the (a) frequency and (b) potential health consequences of the emission from municipal incinerators of PM2.5 particles.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 2 May 2006
	Following the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report Waste not, Want not, published in 2002, Defra commissioned an independent body to bring together information on waste management facilities, including municipal incinerators, currently used in the UK and Europe, and the currently available scientific evidence on their environmental and health effects.
	The resulting Review of Environmental and Health Effects of Waste Management: Municipal Solid Waste and Similar Wastes report; was peer reviewed by the Royal Society and published in May 2004. Among the other conclusions drawn, the report showed that risks to human health from incineration are small in comparison with other known risks to health.
	Emissions from municipal incinerators of PM2.5 particles (estimated at 0.029 thousand tonnes in 2004) are proportionally lower than the contribution from other sectors, at around 0.03 per cent. of the national total of 104 thousand tonnes. The major sources of PM2.5 are thought to be road transport (27 per cent.), domestic combustion (14 per cent.), agriculture (8 per cent.), industrial off road machinery (7 per cent.), power stations (4 per cent.) and small scale waste burning (4 per cent.). However, this fraction of national emissions will not represent the level of human exposure arising from each source sector as a result of the different heights and conditions of release.
	Defra recently launched a consultation on measures to review the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This consultation suggests a much more wide ranging approach for pollutants such as fine particles (PM 2.5), which is cost effective, geared towards improving public health in the UK and will lead to further improvements in air quality. Further details on this consultation can be found on the Defra website:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/airqualstrat-review/index.htm

Departmental Advertising Costs

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on advertising for job vacancies in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 25 April 2006
	The Department for Transport was established in May 2002.
	The Department uses the most appropriate publication for recruitment advertising, be it national, regional, trade magazine or website depending on the nature of the vacancy.
	The following table lists the costs incurred by DFT(Central) in recruitment advertising in all grades together with advertising senior civil service jobs with executive agencies.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2002–2003 241,868.87 
			 2003–2004 403,605.10 
			 2004–2005 472,277.65 
			 2005–2006 199,789.44 
		
	
	Advertising costs for recruitment below the senior civil service in DFT's executive agencies are as follows:
	
		
			 DVLA £ 
		
		
			 2002–03 142,272.00 
			 2003–04 179,473.00 
			 2004–05 154,197.00 
			 2005–06 74,766.00 
			   
			 DSA  
			 2002–03 128,000.00 
			 2003–04 498,655.62 
			 2004–05 536,620.34 
			 2005–06 90,771.69 
			   
			 MCA  
			 2002–03 150,502.97 
			 2003–04 218,251.07 
			 2004–05 167,511.82 
			 2005–06 222,906.98 
			   
			 GCDA  
			 2002–03 22,965.00 
			 2003–04 16,361.00 
			 2004–05 22,546.00 
			 2005–06 6,900.00 
			   
			 VOSA  
			 2002–03 (1)326,503.00 
			 2003–04 530,267.00 
			 2004–05 399,889.00 
			 2005–06 263,738.00 
			   
			 HA  
			 2002–03 572,684.36 
			 2003–04 471,313.26 
			 2004–05 500,309.00 
			 2005–06 (2)1,017,294.00 
			   
			 VCA  
			 2002–03 12,709.00 
			 2003–04 2,800.00 
			 2004–05 6,755.00 
			 2005–06 750.00 
		
	
	(1) VI costs only
	(2) Includes the recruitment of the traffic officer service

Driving Instructors

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many driving instructors have been removed from the Register of Approved Driving Instructors due to convictions for sexual assault in each year since 1988; and how many days elapsed between conviction and removal in each case.

Stephen Ladyman: The Driving Standards Agency's records only show the number of Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) removed from the register since 1996–97, as shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of ADIs removed following: 
			  Registrar's decision/resigned etc. Registrar's decision 
		
		
			 1996 to 2002   
			 1996–97 2,633 — 
			 1997–98 4,432 — 
			 1998–99 3,787 — 
			 1999–2000 2,356 — 
			 2000–01 2,301 — 
			 2001–02 3,017 — 
			
			 2002 to 2006(3)   
			 2002–03 — 109 
			 2003–04 — 103 
			 2004–05 — 113 
			 2005–06(3) — 84 
		
	
	(3) Up to 28 February 2006.
	The reason for removal from the Register following a decision by the Registrar is not recorded, nor is the time elapsed between any conviction and removal.
	The figures from the year 1996–97 to 2001–02 show both removal from the register following a decision by Registrar and those who chose to leave the register. The figures from 2002–03 show only those who were removed as a result of the Registrar's decision.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many appeals were made (a) to magistrates courts in England and Wales and (b) to sheriffs' courts in Scotland against rulings of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency under the terms of section 92 and 100 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: Statistics are available only from April 2003 onwards and relate to both applications refused under Section 92 of The Road Traffic Act 1988 and driving licences revoked under Section 93 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The details are given as follows.
	
		
			  Appeals lodged to magistrates courts in England and Wales Appeals lodged to sheriffs' courts in Scotland Total 
		
		
			 April 2003-March 2004 92 41 133 
			 April 2004-March 2005 126 45 171 
			 April 2005-March 2006 127 41 168

Railways

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the implications of the First Great Western Trains timetabling proposals for December 2006 for (a) intervals in service provision between Cardiff and Swansea during the evening peak time, (b) overcrowding on Arriva Trains Wales services and (c) train connection options for passengers travelling to Swansea on the proposed 1515 London Paddington to Cardiff service.

Derek Twigg: The number of other services, operated by Arriva Trains Wales (ATW), between Cardiff and Swansea will remain unchanged. Newer rolling stock is expected to be transferred to this route for December 2006. The Greater Western franchise specification was designed to improve the overall operational and financial performance of the train service and to ensure resources were used to best meet market needs. The timetable on each route, including London to Swansea, is derived from these requirements. The Department is discussing overcrowding with ATW.

Railways

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people are employed by the British Railways Board (Residuary); and what that body's budget was in 200506.

Derek Twigg: BRBR had 21 full-time and 6 part-time employees as at 31 March 2006. In addition during the 200506 financial year the company was supported by additional resources from the Strategic Rail Authority and the Department for Transport.
	BRBR's budget for 200506 was as follows.
	Operating costs (stated net of property sales)25.6 million
	Capital expenditure (relating to lease payments)7.8 million.

Railways

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the total projected public expenditure is for all forms of national rail services for (a) London, (b) each of the English Passenger Transport Executive areas and (c) each of the English regions in each of the next six financial years;
	(2)  what the public expenditure was on all forms of national rail services for (a) London, (b) each of the English Passenger Transport Executive areas and (c) each of the English regions in each of the last 10 years.

Derek Twigg: The Department of Transport does not hold information on Government spending and investment at a regional level. This is primarily because franchise areas often encompass two or more regions and Network Rail is structured on a route by route basis which also serves more than one region.
	Historic Government support to individual franchises is contained in the Annual Reports of the Strategic Rail Authority and in National Rail Trends, copies of which are in the Library of the House.
	My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State, made a written statement to Parliament on 10 February 2005, Official Report, columns 9396WS setting out Government spending plans for rail as a whole to 200809.

Road Schemes (Carbon Impact)

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what requirement there is under the New Approach to Appraisal to quantify the carbon dioxide impact of each road scheme he approves.

Stephen Ladyman: As part of assessing the impact of new proposals on the environment New Approach to Appraisal (NATA) requires scheme promoters to assess the impact of their proposals on greenhouse gas emissions. As carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is considered to be the most important greenhouse gas, changes in CO 2 emissions are used as the key indicator for assessing the impacts of new proposals' on climate change.
	For all schemes that cost in excess of 5 million, which must be approved by the Secretary of State, the Department's guidance requires scheme promoters to estimate the level of carbon dioxide emissions in the current year and in the opening year of the scheme, both with and without the scheme in place. The change in carbon dioxide emissions in the opening year of the scheme is then used to provide an overall assessment of the scheme's impact on greenhouse gases. At present only carbon emissions associated with fuel consumption are considered in appraisal.

Speed Cameras

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in how many cases speed camera partnerships have had their applications for the siting of speed cameras (a) accepted and (b) rejected; what average time has been taken to make a decision on an application; for what average number of days cases that have not had a decision have been waiting; in how many cases the decision has been appealed; and how many of these appeals have been (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department requires that applications for new speed camera sites comply with the site selection criteria provided in the Handbook of Rules and Guidance for the Safety Camera Programme.
	For 200607, all sites submitted as proposed camera sites were approved as they fully met the site selection criteria. These sites were submitted during February 2006 and were approved by the end of March 2006.

Transport Improvements (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what transport improvements for which his Department is responsible have there been in Tamworth constituency in the past 12 months; what further improvements are planned; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Tamworth constituency is benefiting from the Burntwood bypass local major road scheme, which was funded by the Department and completed in May 2005. In addition, local highway authorities receive integrated transport block funding which can be used for local highways or public transport capital projects. It is for Staffordshire county council, as the highway authority, to determine how that allocation has been spent, in line with its local transport plan and its priorities.
	In the last 12 months, the following Highways Agency schemes have been completed in the area:
	A5 Weeford-Fazeley Improvement
	A5 Tamworth bypassreplacement of porous asphalt
	A38 Milliards Cross to Swinfenrenewal of existing road surfacing
	A38 Swinfenlay-by resurfacing and improvements
	A5 through Hintsrenewal of anti skid surface
	A38/A5148 southbound free-flow link to alleviate congestion
	A5 Hints bypassmajor new road scheme to improve safety and journey time reliability
	A38 Little Hay footbridgenew footbridge constructed as part of Hints bypass
	The following Highways Agency schemes are either presently under construction or scheduled to begin in 200607:
	A38 Bassett's Polejunction improvement (traffic signals) to improve safety and journey time reliability, including signalisation of the island
	A5 Tamworth bypass Phase 2replacement of porous asphalt surface, including the slip roads at Stoneydelf and Glascote
	A38 Swinfenresurfacing of the northbound entry slip road
	A38 Swinfen Gapclosure of the central reservation gaps to improve safety
	A5 Tamworth bypassimprovements to the slip roads at Ventura Park and Fazeley to improve safety
	A5 Tamworth bypassecology improvements to an adjacent drainage area to enhance the habitat for great crested newts
	A38 Canwellinstallation of interactive signs and other signing improvements to improve safety
	The following Highways Agency schemes are also planned:
	A38 Weeford Quarry to CanwellResurfacing works
	Additionally, a number of Section 278 development schemes are being undertaken by external organisations with consent from the Highways Agency. These are as follows:
	A38 Swinfen Prisonprovision of acceleration lane at prison access.
	A5 Bitterscote, Tamworthprovision of new roundabout junction at existing Bitterscote junction to access development site
	A5 Wallpotential alterations to existing roundabout junction
	A38 WeefordPotential improvements to the access at Blackbrook Farm
	On rail, the Trent Valley four tracking scheme on the West Coast Main Line which falls within Tamworth and started in 2003 will provide 19km of an additional two tracks at a cost of 327 million. This is expected to be complete in 2008.

Transport Subsidies

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 April 2006, Official Report, column 713W, on transport subsidies, how much subsidy for public transport was allocated by his Department to (a) Hampshire county council, (b) Portsmouth city council and (c) Southampton city council in each of the last five years in (i) cash and (ii) real terms.

Stephen Ladyman: The amount of subsidy for integrated transport allocated by the Department to Hampshire county council; Portsmouth city council; and Southampton city council in the last five years is shown in the following tables. Integrated transport funding is used by the local authorities to fund all non-maintenance transport investment schemes costing less than 5 millionsmall road projects, road safety schemes, bus priority schemes, walking and cycling schemes, as well as transport information schemes. It is for the councils concerned to decide how much should be allocated to public transport.
	In addition Hampshire county council and Portsmouth city council have received funding for the A3 bus corridor as shown in the table.
	
		(a)(i) Cash terms  million
		
			 Nature of funding for Hampshire county council 200102 200203 200304 200405 200506 
		
		
			 IT Block 13.500 13.204 14.393 15.783 13.492 
			 Bus Subsidy(4) 1.603 2.043 2.143 1.375 1.429 
			 Major Scheme  0.750 2.254 7.500 6.600 
			 Total 15.103 15.997 18.790 24.658 21.521 
		
	
	
		(a)(ii) Real terms  million (2005 prices)
		
			 Nature of funding for Hampshire county council 200102 200203 200304 200405 200506 
		
		
			 IT Block 14.957 14.388 15.242 16.231 13.492 
			 Bus Subsidy(4) 1.776 2.226 2.269 1.414 1.429 
			 Major Scheme  0.817 2.387 7.713 6.6 
			 Total 16.733 17.431 19.899 25.358 21.521 
		
	
	
		(b)(i) Cash terms  million
		
			 Nature of funding for Portsmouth city council 200102 200203 200304 200405 200506 
		
		
			 IT Block 2.100 3.470 2.282 3.002 2.099 
			 Bus Subsidy(4) 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Major Scheme 1.000 1.200 2.888   
			 Total 3.100 4.670 5.170 3.002 2.099 
		
	
	
		(b)(ii) Real terms  million (2005 prices)
		
			 Nature of funding for Portsmouth city council 200102 200203 200304 200405 200506 
		
		
			 IT Block 2.327 3.781 2.417 3.087 2.099 
			 Bus Subsidy(4) 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Major Scheme 1.108 1..308 3.058 0 0 
			 Total 3.435 5.089 5.475 3.087 2.099 
		
	
	
		(c)(i) Cash terms  million
		
			 Nature of funding for Southampton city council 200102 200203 200304 200405 200506 
		
		
			 IT Block 2.800 2.727 2.643 2.721 2.799 
			 Bus Subsidy(4) 0 0.755 0 0 0 
			 Total 2.800 2.727 2.643 2.721 2.799 
		
	
	
		(c)(ii) Real terms  million (2005 prices)
		
			 Nature of funding for Southampton city council 200102 200203 200304 200405 200506 
		
		
			 IT Block 3.102 2.972 2.799 2.798 2.799 
			 Bus Subsidy(4) 0 0.823 0 0 0 
			 Total 3.102 3.794 2.799 2.798 2.799 
		
	
	(4) The figures comprise of Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG), and awards made under the Rural Bus Challenge, and Urban Bus Challenge funding.

Crown Prosecution Service

Stephen Byers: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will review the basis on which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decides whether to bring a prosecution with a view to encouraging the CPS to be less risk averse when making such decisions.

Mike O'Brien: Each case the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) receives from the police is reviewed in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. Application of the Code means that a case is prosecuted when there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction (the 'evidential test') and that the prosecution is in the public interest (the 'public interest test'). The Code is issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions under Section 10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and it is periodically reviewed by the CPS. The last review occurred in 2004 and included a public consultation exercise. The current edition of the Code was published in November 2004.
	Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) reviews CPS performance regarding the application of the Code. HMCPSI's 200405 annual report records that CPS average percentage compliance with the evidential test at initial review over the 200204 inspection cycle is at 98.6 per cent.; and the equivalent compliance with the public interest test is at 99.9 per cent. There are no current plans for a review of the Code.

AWOL

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers on operational tour in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan went absent without leave in each quarter since January 2003.

Adam Ingram: There have been no reports of soldiers on operational tour in Iraq or Afghanistan going absent without leave (AWOL) over the period in question. However, this does not include those individuals who may have gone AWOL while returned partway through their tour of Iraq on rest and recuperation or for other reasons. This level of data is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Deepcut Review

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of the Deepcut Review was, broken down by main budget heading.

Adam Ingram: The total cost for the Deepcut Review currently stands at 919,718. Further costs are still expected, mainly concerning the recent publication of the report. The expenditure so far can be broken down into the following main areas:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 Legal fees 810,309 
			 Facilities/support 85,417 
			 Press costs 23,992

Hercules Aircraft

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 18 April 2006, Official Report, columns 67W, on Hercules aircraft, what his definition is of (a) directional infra-red defensive counter-measures and (b) lamp infra red counter measure; what the purposes are of each measure; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The lamp infra red counter measure provides omni-directional protection against infra red guided missiles by projecting broadband jamming energy. The directional infrared counter measure utilises attack warning sensors to focus the jamming system towards the threat.

Merchant Fleet

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 2208W, on the merchant fleet, what the (a) year of use and (b) type of vessel was in each case.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is shown in the following table. The list also shows the financial year in which each vessel was chartered. Some vessels will have been chartered towards the end of one financial year, with use continuing into the following financial year.
	
		
			 Ship name Flag Type 
		
		
			 Financial year 200001   
			 Aldebaran Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Arneb German Ro-ro 
			 Arroyofrio Uno Spanish Ro-ro 
			 Baltic Eagle Isle of Man Ro-ro 
			 Britta Oden Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Cap Afrique French Ro-ro 
			 Cidade de Funchal Portuguese Ro-ro 
			 Dart 1 Romanian Ro-ro 
			 Eclipse French Ro-ro 
			 Leopold Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Loverval Luxembourg Ro-ro 
			 Maersk Teal Singapore Ro-ro 
			 Maj Danielsen Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 Marianne Danica Danish Lo-lo 
			 Mont Ventoux Bermuda Ro-ro 
			 Novorossiysk Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Puma Danish Lo-lo 
			 Saint Brandan British Lo-lo 
			 Sea Bird Danish Lo-lo 
			 Sochi Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Sondos UAE Ro-ro 
			 Stena Shipper British Ro-ro 
			 Tango Romanian Ro-ro 
			 Thor Sofia Isle of Man Lo-lo 
			 Tor Anglia Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Wloclawek Maltese Ro-ro 
			
			 Financial year 200102   
			 Alblasgracht Netherlands Lo-lo 
			 Aleksandrov Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Arcturus Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Astra Sea Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Atlantic Crusader Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Baltic Eagle Isle of Man Ro-ro 
			 Baltic Link Dutch Ro-ro 
			 Bazias 1 Romanian Ro-ro 
			 BBC Colombia Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Blue Moon Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Breant British Ro-ro 
			 Brittaoden Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Cap Afrique French Ro-ro 
			 CEC Cardigan Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 Eclipse French Ro-ro 
			 Etly Danielsen Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 Feedercadet Portuguese Ro-ro 
			 Hereford Bahamas Ro-ro 
			 Juris Avots Cyprus Ro-ro 
			 Marianne Danica Danish Lo-lo 
			 Norse Mersey Italian Ro-ro 
			 Novorossiysk Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Ocean Bird Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Pegasus Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Puma Danish Lo-lo 
			 Sarawak Singapore Ro-ro 
			 Sochi Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Southern Carrier Spanish Ro-ro 
			 Sun Admiral Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Tancred Norwegian Ro-ro 
			 Thebeland British Ro-ro 
			 Tor Anglia Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Tor Futura Danish Ro-ro 
			 Tor Minerva Danish Ro-ro 
			 Tyrusland British Ro-ro 
			 Velazquez Spanish Ro-ro 
			
			 Financial year 200203   
			 Adriana Cyprus Ro-ro 
			 Aegean Pearl Greek Ro-ro 
			 Anna Desagnes Canadian Lo-lo 
			 Anna Oden Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Arroyofrio Uno (DOS) Spanish Ro-ro 
			 Astra Sea Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Atlantic Crusader Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 BBC Finland Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 BBC Germania Liberian Lo-lo 
			 BBC Gibraltar Gibraltar Lo-lo 
			 BBC Rheiderland British Lo-lo 
			 Beatrixhaven Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Birka Forest Finnish Ro-ro 
			 Blue Moon Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Brave Merchant British Ro-ro 
			 Britta Oden Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Calibur Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Cervantes Spanish Ro-ro 
			 Clipper Cardigan Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 Dart 8 Bermuda Ro-ro 
			 Dart 9 Bermuda Ro-ro 
			 Fast challenger Egyptian Ro-ro 
			 Feedercadet Portuguese Ro-ro 
			 Genova Bridge St. Vincent and Grenadines Ro-ro 
			 Hebrides British Car ferry 
			 Hereford Bahamas Ro-ro 
			 Johnny Maltese Lo-lo 
			 Jolly Giallo Italian Ro-ro 
			 Kapitan Vaga Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 Kaptan Burhanettin Turkish Ro-ro 
			 Karincat Danish Lo-lo 
			 LA Surprise Spanish Ro-ro 
			 Laura St. Vincent and Grenadines Ro-ro 
			 Light Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 Lince St. Vincent and Grenadines Ro-ro 
			 Lyra Antigua Ro-ro 
			 Maersk Ramsey British Tanker 
			 Magdalena Green Netherlands Lo-lo 
			 Mersey Fisher British Tanker 
			 NDS Prominence Cyprus Ro-ro 
			 Nord 1 St. Vincent and Grenadines Ro-ro 
			 Novorossiysk Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Pacific Winner Marshall Islands Ro-ro 
			 Pancaldo Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Panthera Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Pasewalk Liberian Ro-ro 
			 Passat Antigua and Barbuda Semi-submersible 
			 Project Europa Netherlands Ro-ro 
			 Puma Danish Lo-lo 
			 Roy Maersk Danish Tanker 
			 Sea Admiral Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Sea Runner Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Shippersgracht Netherlands Lo-lo 
			 Schackenborg Cayman Islands Ro-ro 
			 Skanderborg Cayman Islands Ro-ro 
			 Smit Enterprise Bahamas Semi-submersible 
			 Sochi Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Southern Trader Bahamas Ro-ro 
			 Stadiongracht Dutch Lo-lo 
			 Stena Shipper British Ro-ro 
			 Strada Gigante Italian Ro-ro 
			 Thebeland British Ro-ro 
			 Thor Falcon Danish Lo-lo 
			 Tiger Danish Lo-lo 
			 Tobias Maersk British Lo-lo 
			 Tor Anglia Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Traden Finnish Ro-ro 
			 Tychy Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Ulusoy 3 Turkish Ro-ro 
			 Ulusoy 4 Turkish Ro-ro 
			 Ulusoy 5 Turkish Ro-ro 
			 Ursula Marshall Islands Lo-lo 
			 Velazquez Spanish Ro-ro 
			 Vikingland British Ro-ro 
			 Wind Admiral Maltese Ro-ro 
			 Wloclawek Maltese Ro-ro 
			
			 Financial year 200304   
			 Anna Oden Italian Ro-ro 
			 Aqua Star Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Atlantic Crusader Cyprus Lo-lo 
			 BBC Sweden Gibraltar Lo-lo 
			 Blackrock British Tanker 
			 CEC Cardiff Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 CEC Cardigan Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 CEC Faith Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 Danica Sunbeam Danish Lo-lo 
			 Dart 10 Bermuda Ro-ro 
			 Dicksi Norwegian Tanker 
			 Longstone British Ro-ro 
			 Mersey Fisher British Tanker 
			 Pancaldo Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Pasewalk Liberian Ro-ro 
			 Puma Danish Lo-lo 
			 Scan Germania Isle of Man Lo-lo 
			 Scan Polaris Isle of Man Ro-ro 
			 Stena Foreteller Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Tor Anglia British Ro-ro 
			 Traden Finnish Ro-ro 
			 Vikingland British Ro-ro 
			
			 Financial year 200405   
			 Anglian Prince UK Tug 
			 Anna Johanna Danish Tanker 
			 Barmouth British Tanker 
			 Ben Ellan Isle of Man General cargo 
			 Ben Maye Isle of Man General cargo 
			 Bore Mari Finnish Ro-ro 
			 Bremer Forest Gibraltar Lo-lo 
			 CEC Cardiff Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 CEC Fighter Bahamas Lo-lo 
			 CSO Marianos Bahamas Diving support vehicle 
			 Fairplay 22 Antigua and Barbuda Tug 
			 Forth Fisher British Tanker 
			 Hebrides British Car ferry 
			 Laura M UK Multi-role Vessel 
			 Lesley M UK Workboat/multicat 
			 Mary M UK Multi-role vessel 
			 Mersey Fisher British Tanker 
			 MSV Fennica Norway Multi-role Vessel 
			 Pantanal Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Patria Antigua Lo-lo 
			 Portree II UK Multi-role vessel 
			 RRS Ernest Shackleton UK Polar research/sub sea support vessel 
			 Sirocco Panama Tug 
			 Stena Foreteller Swedish Ro-ro 
			 Stevns Pearl Danish Lo-lo 
			 Suzanne D Dutch Anchor handling vessel 
			 Thorax Norway Tug 
			
			 Financial year 200506(5) 
			 Atlantic Osprey British Ro-ro 
			 BBC Denmark Netherland Antilles Lo-lo 
			 Bibby Sapphire Panama Dive support vehicle 
			 Bourbon Chieftain NISNorwegian Offshore Registry Anchor handling vessel 
			 CEC Blue Isle of Man Lo-lo 
			 Comenda Portugal Tug 
			 Condock 1 Netherland Antilles Ro-ro 
			 Condock 3 Gibraltar Ro-ro 
			 EMU Surveyor UK Survey vessel 
			 Fairplay 22 Antigua and Barbuda Tug 
			 Korsoer Antigua and Barbuda Ro-ro 
			 Looiersgracht Dutch Lo-lo 
			 Medway Otter UK Workboat 
			 Medway Rhino UK Workboat 
			 MSV Fennica Norway Multi-role vessel 
			 Naomi E Dutch Multi-role vessel 
			 Portree II UK Multi-role vessel 
			 Santa Ines Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Sarah Grey UK Multi-role vessel 
			 Seastudio UK Workboat Targa 37 
			 Severn Fisher Gibraltar Tanker 
			 Skaftafell Gibraltar Lo-lo 
			 Sloman Commander Antigua and Barbuda Lo-lo 
			 Thorax Norway Tug 
			 Zeran Maltese Ro-ro 
		
	
	(5) To date 13 February 2006
	Note:
	Lo-lo=Load on-load off
	Ro-ro=Roll on-roll off

Ministry of Defence Stores

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on the value of its stores lodged with its contractors and subsequently found either to be lost or otherwise unavailable for his Department's purposes in each of the financial years since April 1999.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 April 2006
	The only information centrally available over the period since April 1999 is the value of financial recoveries notified to the Ministry of Defence's Asset Accounting Centre. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 January 2006, Official Report, columns 165051W.
	Further information is held by asset owners and other branches dispersed throughout the Department but could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Nuclear Waste

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of dealing with nuclear waste arising from defence projects in each of the last five years; and from which budgets these costs are met.

Adam Ingram: The following table details the costs incurred against the running cost element of the defence budget in each of the last five years, in dealing with nuclear waste arising from defence projects.
	
		
			 Financial years Cost ( million) 
		
		
			 200001 213 
			 200102 201 
			 200203 241 
			 200304 188 
			 200405 253

Porton Down

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many animals have been used in experiments at Porton Down in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) breed and (b) procedures carried out.

Adam Ingram: Dstl Porton Down submits annual returns to the Home Office detailing the number of procedures undertaken which involve the use of animals as defined in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
	In the years 2000 to 2005 the annual returns to the Home Office, broken down by species are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Guinea Pig 587 727 644 653 506 661 
			 Ferret 0 0 0 0 42 60 
			 Hamster 24 0 0 70 0 0 
			 Mouse 10,856 11,944 14,874 12,645 14,737 20,016 
			 Pig 106 23 88 131 80 127 
			 Rabbit 19 23 24 22 12 3 
			 Rat 350 125 268 355 320 195 
			 Sheep 9 45 0 0 0 2 
			 Cattle 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Non-human primate 34 68 42 23 30 54 
			 Total 11,985 12,955 15,940 13,899 15,728 21,118

RAF

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many combat fighter aircraft are in service use by the RAF, broken down by type.

Adam Ingram: The following table shows the number of air defence aircraft that are planned to be in service with the RAF at the end of the present Financial Year.
	
		
			 Aircraft type Total fleet 
		
		
			 Tornado F3 82

RAF

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ground attack aircraft are in service with the RAF, broken down by type; and what plans he has to replace them.

Adam Ingram: The following table shows the number of offensive support aircraft that are planned to be in service with the RAF at the end of the present financial year.
	
		
			 Aircraft type Fleet number 
		
		
			 Jaguar GR 13 
			 Harrier GR 73 
			 Tornado GR 139 
		
	
	These offensive support aircraft will be progressively replaced by Typhoon and the Joint Combat Aircraft over the next two decades.

RAF

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF (a) Harrier GR7 and (b) Jaguar aircraft are (i) in service and (ii) fit for purpose.

Adam Ingram: The following table shows, for end-March 2006, the numbers of Harrier GR and Jaguar aircraft that were planned to be in service and that were fit for purpose.
	
		
			 Aircraft type Total fleet Numbers of aircraft fit for purpose (average Financial Year 200506)(6) 
		
		
			 Harrier GR7/9(7) 73 22 
			 Jaguar(8) 45 20 
		
	
	(6) Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
	(7) Harrier GR7 FFP figures are not held separately hence the total fleet and FFP numbers shown are for both GR7 and GR9 aircraft.
	(8) Jaguar numbers include training aircraft.
	Aircraft are deemed fit for purpose if they are capable of undertaking the required task on a given day. Aircraft are not available for tasking if they are undergoing scheduled maintenance, modification programmes or any other unforeseen rectification work that can arise on a day to day basis. The figures do not reflect the fact that an aircraft assessed as not fit for purpose may be returned to the front line at very short notice to meet the operational need.

Departmental Staff

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) women and (b) men are employed in the Department; what the average pay was for (i) women and (ii) men in the Department in (1) 1997 and (2) 2006; what women's average pay is as a percentage of men's average pay; and how many (A) women and (B) men the Department employed in each of the last five years, broken down by grade.

David Lammy: The following table present the average salary for men and women in DCMS and women's salary as a percentage difference to men's for the years 2002 and 2006. Data for 1997 is unavailable.
	
		
			 Grade Men () Women () Percentage difference 
		
		
			 2002
			 SCS Pay band 1(9) 57,188 51,489 90 
			 A(U) (Grade 6) 45,972 48,267 105 
			 A (Grade 7) 39,283 38,842 99 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 27,155 26,291 97 
			 C (EO) 19,517 19,871 102 
			 D (AA/AO) 15,736 15,940 101 
			 2006
			 SCS Pay band 1(9) 62,289 62,017 100 
			 A(U) (Grade 6) 53,466 55,950 105 
			 A (Grade 7) 43,725 42,119 96 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 29,569 29,011 98 
			 C (EO) 21,441 21,441 100 
			 D (AA/AO) 17,544 17,968 102 
		
	
	(9) Permanent Secretary and SCS paybands 2 and 3 have been excluded under the Data Protection Act, to avoid identification of individuals where numbers are less than five.
	The following table show the breakdown of men and women by grade in each of the last five years:
	
		
			 Grade Male Female 
		
		
			 2002   
			 SCS 16 12 
			 A/A(U) (Grade 6/7) 54 30 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 86 56 
			 C (EO) 53 56 
			 D (AA/AO) 36 70 
			 Total 245 224 
			
			 2003   
			 SCS 18 9 
			 A/A(U) (Grade 6/7) 52 31 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 79 60 
			 C (EO) 56 61 
			 D (AA/AO) 33 69 
			 Total 238 230 
			
			 2004   
			 SCS 20 6 
			 A/A(U) (Grade 6/7) 53 33 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 89 69 
			 C (EO) 55 65 
			 D (AA/AO) 33 63 
			 Total 250 236 
			
			 2005   
			 SCS 20 8 
			 A/A(U) (Grade 6/7) 68 38 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 88 85 
			 C (EO) 59 64 
			 D (AA/AO) 32 65 
			 Total 267 260 
			
			 2006   
			 SCS 21 9 
			 A/A(U) (Grade 6/7) 69 48 
			 B (HEO/SEO) 91 86 
			 C (EO) 58 67 
			 D (AA/AO) 25 43 
			 Total 264 253

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) EU foreign nationals and (b) non-EU foreign nationals have been employed in her Department in each of the last five years; what vetting procedures are in place for each category of staff; and whether these include liaison with foreign law enforcement agencies.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has employed one EU foreign national since September 2004 and one non- EU foreign national since July 2005. Both individuals underwent national security vetting up to counter terrorist check (CTC) level, which includes liaison with foreign law enforcement agencies. In addition identity checks were made on their arrival to the Department.
	The non EU-foreign national was appointed under an aliens' certificate under sections 1 (1) (b) and 1 (2) (a) of the Aliens Employment Act 1955, which is valid for five years.

Sport Funding

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what central Government funding has been allocated to sport in Tamworth constituency in each of the last eight years.

Richard Caborn: Funding for sport is primarily channelled through Sport England and UK Sport, the two DCMS sponsored bodies which award lottery grants and dispense Exchequer funds for sport from DCMS. Not all data by distributing bodies is kept at constituency level.
	However Sport England and UK Sport have made a number of grants to the Tamworth constituency since 1997.
	Sport England awarded Exchequer funding of 20,000, 20,000 and 17,500 in 2001, 2002 and 2003 respectively. Lottery funding provided by Sport England to the Tamworth area since 1997 includes 10,000 for the Green Spaces programme, 169,183 Awards for All and 403,780 for the development of the Anker Valley.
	UK Sport has also provided Exchequer funding for UK Competitors in the Tamworth area: 60,000 in 19992000, 40,000 in 200001 and 20,000 in 200102.

Sport Funding

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department has provided to (a) football, (b) cricket, (c) tennis, (d) rugby, (e) athletics and (f) other sports in (i) the Tees Valley and (ii) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.

Richard Caborn: Financial support for sport from public sources is primarily channelled through Sport England and UK Sport, the two DCMS sponsored bodies which award lottery grants and dispense Exchequer funds for sport from DCMS.
	Sport England
	The following table summarises the lottery funding which Sport England has awarded to the sports specified in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland and Tees Valley areas since 1997.
	
		Award ()
		
			  Sport  Tees Valley Middlesbrough South and Cleveland East 
		
		
			 (a) Football 7,068,041 90,450 
			 (b) Cricket 1,044,263 886,348 
			 (c) Tennis 38,059 (10) 
			 (d) Rugby 775,019 (10) 
			 (e) Athletics 1,792,008 160,000 
			 (f) Other sports 28,443,215 4,433,570 
			 Total 39,160,605 5,570,368 
		
	
	(10) This information is not available in the format requested.
	Note:
	Sport England has defined the Tees Valley area as the local authorities of: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-On-Tees.
	It was only possible to identify Space for Sport and the Arts and Green Spaces figures by local authority area which do not coincide exactly with constituency boundaries. As such they are included in the overall Tees Valley figures but not the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland figures. The report will therefore slightly understate the amount of funding benefiting Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.
	The other sport category includes those projects classified as multi sport. It is likely that some of the individual sports listed in the table also benefited from these awards.
	It is not possible for Sport England to determine an amount of Exchequer funding allocated to individual sports in these two areas as its Exchequer funding is awarded to the National Governing Bodies of sports who then distribute this funding to projects in different areas. However, the total Exchequer funding awarded by Sport England to the Tees Valley area since 1997 is 902,928.
	For this purpose, Sport England has defined the Tees Valley area as the local authorities of: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar  Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees.
	UK Sport
	It is not possible for UK Sport to determine an amount of lottery or Exchequer funding allocated to these two areas as its funding is not directed to specific regions. However, UK Sport has identified two athletes with a declared address in the Middlesbrough South and Cleveland East area who have benefited from lottery funded Athlete Personal Awards of approximately 63,000.
	Note:
	This figure shows the funding awarded since 2001, the date which UK Sport took over management of Athlete Personal Awards from Sport England.

Energy Provision

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of UK energy was generated from (a) nuclear, (b) oil, (c) gas, (d) coal and (e) renewables sources in each of the past 30 years.

Malcolm Wicks: Data over a 30 year period are only available in terms of fuel used for electricity generation. Percentages calculated from the published data are as follows:
	
		Percentages of total fuel input for electricity generation
		
			  Nuclear Oil Natural gas Coal Renewable sources Other fuels(11) 
		
		
			 1976 14.3 16.3 2.4 66.4 0.6  
			 1977 15.3 16.4 1.8 65.9 0.5  
			 1978 14.3 17.7 1.2 66.1 0.5 0.2 
			 1979 14.1 15.7 0.7 68.8 0.5 0.2 
			 1980 14.3 11.0 0.6 73.4 0.5 0.2 
			 1981 15.4 8.3 0.3 75.2 0.6 0.2 
			 1982 18.0 10.1 0.3 70.9 0.6 0.2 
			 1983 20.3 7.7 0.3 71.1 0.6  
			 1984 21.0 33.0 0.6 44.9 0.6  
			 1985 23.1 15.9 0.8 59.8 0.5  
			 1986 21.9 9.2 0.3 68.0 0.6  
			 1987(12) 20.5 7.3 0.3 71.4 0.5  
			 1987(12) 19.4 8.5 1.2 69.4 0.5 1.0 
			 1988 21.9 9.3 1.3 65.9 0.6 1.0 
			 1989 23.6 9.4 0.7 64.6 0.5 1.2 
			
			 1990 21.3 11.0 0.7 65.3 0.9 0.8 
			 1991 22.7 9.8 0.7 65.0 0.8 0.9 
			 1992 24.1 10.5 2.0 61.3 1.0 1.0 
			 1993 28.6 7.7 9.3 52.5 1.1 0.7 
			 1994 28.6 5.6 13.6 50.1 1.4 0.6 
			 1995 27.5 5.4 17.2 47.0 1.3 1.5 
			 1996 27.9 4.9 21.8 42.3 1.2 1.9 
			 1997 28.6 2.6 28.3 36.9 1.6 2.0 
			 1998 28.9 2.1 28.4 36.9 1.8 2.0 
			 1999 27.9 1.9 34.0 32.0 2.2 2.0 
			 2000 24.2 1.9 34.4 35.3 2.3 1.9 
			 2001 24.7 1.7 32.0 37.6 2.4 1.5 
			 2002 24.2 1.6 34.2 35.7 2.8 1.6 
			 2003 23.2 1.4 32.3 37.7 3.0 2.5 
			 2004 21.4 1.3 34.4 37.0 3.7 2.1 
			 2005(13) 21.5 1.7 31.9 37.9 4.3 2.6 
		
	
	(11) Other fuels include coke and breeze, coke oven gas, blast furnace gas and waste products from chemical processes and non-biodegradable wastes.
	(12) Data for all generating companies are only available from 1987 onwards, and figures for 1987 to 1989 contain a high degree of estimation. Before 1987 the data are for major power producers, transport undertakings and industrial hydro and nuclear stations only.
	(13) 2005 data are provisional.
	Source:
	Calculated from data published in tables 5.1.1 and 7.1.1 of the internet version of the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2005.

Energy Provision

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what quantity of (a) carbon dioxide and (b) other emissions were generated by (i) nuclear, (ii) oil, (iii) gas, (iv) coal and (v) renewables generation in each of the past 30 years.

Malcolm Wicks: Data on carbon and other emissions from electricity generated by major power producers from coal, oil and gas since 1970 are shown in the table. The data have been obtained from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory. There is no information available on emissions from nuclear or renewable electricity generation.
	
		
			  Thousand tonnes of pollutant 
			  Carbon Carbon monoxide Nitrogen oxide 
			 Fuel Coal Oil Gas Coal Oil Gas Coal Oil Gas 
		
		
			 1970 47,238 11,254 87 126 15 0 690 122 0 
			 1971 44,254 13,143 381 102 18 0 650 145 1 
			 1972 40,391 16,592 913 88 22 0 594 179 3 
			 1973 46,497 14,823 413 98 20 0 684 163 1 
			 1974 40,587 15,473 1,428 86 21 1 597 171 5 
			 1975 45,137 11,646 1,244 94 16 0 664 129 4 
			 1976 47,073 9,129 928 98 13 0 693 101 3 
			 1977 48,404 9,509 635 101 13 0 712 104 2 
			 1978 48,767 10,168 367 102 14 0 718 112 1 
			 1979 53,728 9,779 233 112 13 0 791 108 1 
			 1980 54,194 5,717 80 113 8 0 797 64 0 
			 1981 52,776 4,295 0 110 6 0 111 48 0 
			 1982 48,542 5,698 122 101 8 0 714 63 1 
			 1983 49,351 3,429 247 103 5 0 726 38 1 
			 1984 32,316 17,612 356 68 24 0 476 196 1 
			 1985 44,737 8,490 183 93 12 0 658 95 1 
			 1986 50,009 4,972 2 105 7 0 736 56 0 
			 1987 52,141 3,962 2 109 6 0 767 44 0 
			 1988 49,895 4,534 2 104 6 0 734 51 0 
			 1989 48,787 4,686 3 102 7 0 720 47 0 
			 1990 49,950 5,643 4 104 8 0 717 58 0 
			 1991 50,186 5,103 10 104 7 0 631 45 0 
			 1992 46,899 4,389 715 97 7 4 612 37 12 
			 1993 39,045 3,723 3,980 81 6 10 492 45 19 
			 1994 36,889 2,803 5,661 86 5 12 449 38 23 
			 1995 34,728 2,720 7,052 84 4 13 424 28 26 
			 1996 32,674 2,473 9,259 80 4 14 373 26 31 
			 1997 27,870 1,023 11,555 31 1 12 289 11 46 
			 1998 28,708 750 12,092 47 1 10 282 9 49 
			 1999 23,990 776 14,428 39 1 11 239 10 50 
			 2000 26,996 852 14,388 45 1 15 269 9 48 
			 2001 30,142 865 14,002 49 2 10 298 10 42 
			 2002 28,410 688 14,744 47 1 10 279 8 43 
			 2003 31,245 693 14,406 50 1 11 315 8 39 
			 2004 30,091 935 15,360 49 2 12 288 13 41 
		
	
	Note:
	In the table, coal includes coke; oil covers gas oil, fuel oil and orimulsion; gas includes natural gas, sour gas and other petroleum gases.
	Source:
	National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory
	
		Thousand tonnes of pollutant
		
			  Sulphur dioxide Volatile organic compounds Particulate matter (PM10) 
			 Fuel Coal Oil Gas Coal Oil Gas Coal Oil Gas 
		
		
			 1970 2,257 662 0 6 1 0 66 3 0 
			 1971 2,122 819 0 6 1 0 61 3 0 
			 1972 1,939 1,055 0 5 2 0 56 4 0 
			 1973 2,190 970 0 6 1 0 64 4 0 
			 1974 1,911 1,020 0 5 2 1 56 4 0 
			 1975 2,126 820 0 6 1 0 62 3 0 
			 1976 2,217 599 0 6 1 0 65 2 0 
			 1977 2,280 592 0 6 1 0 67 2 0 
			 1978 2,297 646 0 6 1 0 67 2 0 
			 1979 2,615 632 0 7 1 0 74 2 0 
			 1980 2,638 374 0 7 1 0 75 1 0 
			 1981 2,569 283 0 7 0 0 73 1 0 
			 1982 2,408 344 0 6 1 0 67 1 0 
			 1983 2,450 184 0 6 0 0 68 1 0 
			 1984 1,624 968 0 4 2 0 44 4 0 
			 1985 2,163 467 0 6 1 0 62 2 0 
			 1986 2,450 276 0 6 0 0 69 1 0 
			 1987 2,587 247 0 7 0 0 72 1 0 
			 1988 2,488 244 0 6 0 0 69 1 0 
			 1989 2,395 249 0 6 0 0 67 1 0 
			 1990 2,424 304 0 6 1 0 69 1 0 
			 1991 2,313 222 0 6 1 0 68 1 0 
			 1992 2,207 196 30 6 0 0 64 1 0 
			 1993 1,830 249 3 5 0 1 53 1 0 
			 1994 1,549 202 4 5 0 1 47 1 1 
			 1995 1,407 174 3 5 0 2 36 1 1 
			 1996 1,141 167 5 5 0 3 33 1 1 
			 1997 953 39 8 3 0 2 20 2 10 
			 1998 1,016 34 3 1 0 3 22 1 0 
			 1999 720 32 2 1 0 2 17 1 0 
			 2000 772 29 1 1 0 4 20 1 0 
			 2001 699 23 0 1 0 3 15 1 1 
			 2002 643 17 2 1 0 5 7 0 1 
			 2003 644 16 1 1 0 3 6 0 1 
			 2004 479 14 1 1 0 3 7 0 1 
		
	
	Note:
	In the table, coal includes coke; oil covers gas oil, fuel oil and orimulsion; gas includes natural gas, sour gas and other petroleum gases.
	Source:
	National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

Non-fossil Fuel Obligation Fund

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date his Department (a) indicated its agreement to HM Treasury that the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation Fund constituted hereditary revenues of the Crown and (b) discovered that the fund had been conclusively so determined by HM Treasury; by what means and by whom the Treasury's determination was communicated to his Department; and if he will place copies of all relevant communications in the Library.

Malcolm Wicks: The DTI and HM Treasury agreed in October 2004 that the element of the Non Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) surplus, representing the profit made by the Non Fossil Purchasing Agency because it is able to auction electricity (together with the associated Renewable Obligation Certificates) for more than it pays for the electricity under the NFFO contracts, should be paid into the Consolidated Fund after receiving legal advice that the monies are hereditary revenues of the Crown.I am withholding the legal advice requested, as it is confidential and subject to legal professional privilege. There is a strong public interest in Government Departments receiving high quality legal advice to ensure the effective conduct of business, that advice needs to be given in confidence and with a full appreciation of the facts.

Home Ownership

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many homes were purchased in Northern Ireland through the co-ownership scheme in each of the last three years.

David Hanson: The information is as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Number of co-ownership purchases 
		
		
			 200304 463 
			 200405 502 
			 200506 504

Housing Executive

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed by (a) housing associations and (b) the Housing Executive in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The number of staff employed is as follows:
	(a) Housing Associations 1 1,910;
	(b) Northern Ireland Housing Executive 2 3,437
	1 Excludes staff on career break, seconded out or employed through an agency
	2 Excludes temporary, casual and agency staff

Iraq (Nuclear Contamination)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she has received representations regarding the risk of nuclear contamination affecting civilians in Iraq; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 14 June 2005, Official Report, columns 32728W. I have received no recent representations on the issues.

Morocco

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Morocco about the treatment of migrants.

Kim Howells: The UK regularly holds discussions at ministerial and official level with the Government of Morocco about migration. For instance, I discussed migration with Taib Fassi Fihri, the Moroccan Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation during our meeting on 30 March 2006.
	The UK Presidency established a framework of action by the EU to better manage migration from Africa and the Mediterranean, including addressing the treatment of migrants. Within that framework, on 1011 July Morocco will host a regional conference on migration and development, addressing migration flows within countries on the West Africa migratory route. The UK is playing an active role in the preparations for the conference.

Rendition

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2006, Official Report, column 1184W, on rendition allegations (inquiries), whether Mohammed Rashid has been sentenced.

Kim Howells: Mohammed Rashid was sentenced on 24 March 2006 for his part in the bombing of a Pan Am aircraft in 1982. He will remain in prison in the United States until 20 March 2013 and pay restitution to the parents of the teenager killed in the bombing. We learned of the sentence just after publication of my written reply to my hon. Friend on 30 March 2006, Official Report, columns 118384 W.

West Bank/Gaza (UK Personnel)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has received regarding the safety of UK personnel operating in the West Bank and Gaza.

Kim Howells: We take the safety of UK personnel working in the West Bank and Gaza and visiting British nationals very seriously.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes, South-West (Dr. Starkey) on 21 March 2006, Official Report, columns 33940W. Since then, we have not received any further representations.

Dentistry

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was allocated to Morecambe Bay primary care trust for dentistry services in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The main element of national health service dental services are the primary dental care services provided by dentists working within the general dental service (GDS), or personal dental service (PDS) pilots. Until April 2006, when primary care trusts (PCTs) became responsible for commissioning all primary dental care services, the GDS was a non- discretionary service funded from a national budget. Expenditure was mainly determined by the volume of NHS work that dentists chose to undertake. Local budget allocations were not assigned to individual PCTs.
	The level of expenditure on hospital and community dental services is decided at local level by PCTs. The tables show the most readily available core data on expenditure on GDS and PDS services for the Morecambe Bay PCT. The difference between gross and net expenditure is the contribution to costs from dental charges collected directly from patients. As the notes explain, this data does not capture certain elements of GDS and PDS expenditure, and reliable local PDS data based on practice level details is only available from the financial year 200405. Full data for 200506 is not yet available.
	
		Core GDS and PDS dental payments(14)(15)(16)(17)  million
		
			  199798 199899 19992000 200001 200102 200203 200304 200405 
		
		
			 Gross GDS 8.025 8.372 8.622 8.983 9.642 9.767 9.799 9.260 
			 Net GDS 5.182 5.356 5.460 5.667 6.081 6.180 6.331 6.140 
			 Gross PDS n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1.564 
			 Net PDS n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1.378 
			 Gross GDS and PDS 8.025 8.372 8.622 8.983 9.642 9.767 9.799 10.824 
			 Net GDS and PDS 5.182 5.356 5.460 5.667 6.081 6.180 6.331 7.519 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Gross GDS payments include adult fees, including item of service and continuing care payments, child fees, including item of service and capitation payments, commitment payments and point of treatment check payment training (in 2001 only), seniority payments, maternity/paternity/adoptive leave payments, long term sick leave payments, continuing professional development allowances including travel hours, reimbursement of business rates, vocational training grants and clinical audit payments. The following costs are excluded from this data: employer's superannuation costs, vocational trainee salaries and national insurance contribution costs, clinical audit convenors, clinical audit secretarial support costs and travel expenses, and costs associated with any salaried general dental practitioners and emergency dental services.
	2. PDS payment data is included for 200405 only and relates to baseline payments or the agreed regular monthly payments made to PDS practices. Reliable PDS data at practice level are not available prior to 200405. The data cannot identify the cost of any PDS services that are directly managed by local NHS trusts, such as certain dental access centres.
	3. Payments are assigned to areas on the basis of practice postcode data.
	4. Net payments represent the balance of payments due after taking account of NHS dental charge income collected from patients by dental practices.

Dentistry

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis her Department calculates the amount of funding allocated to primary care trusts each year for dentistry services.

Rosie Winterton: Under the new dental service framework which took effect on 1 April 2006, primary care trusts (PCTs) received devolved budgets to support the commissioning of local primary dental services. These services were previously provided as general dental services (CDS), for which expenditure was demand-led, that is depending on the volume of national health service work that dentists chose to do, and personal dental services (PDS) pilots.
	Allocations for 200607 were based on the costs of all GDS and PDS services delivered between October 2004 and September 2005 (the most recently available data for each area), adjusted where necessary to reflect the full year costs of newly opened contracts, together with provision for approved growth plans for local schemes proposed by PCTs. Appropriate upratings to fully reflect annual earnings adjustments as recommended by the doctors and dentists review body were also considered.
	These allocations reflected the commitment that all dentists previously providing NHS services were entitled to maintain their previous level of earnings in return for an agreed level of NHS commitment. This was intended to provide a smooth transition to the new contract arrangements and to provide a stable base for the future development of dental services.
	PCTs may direct additional funding to dentistry from their general NHS resources if they judge this to be an appropriate local priority.

Eye Tests

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to review the eye examination sight test fee payable by the NHS to registered opticians for (a) under-16s, (b) those in full time education, (c) those on income support, (d) those over 60 and (e) others.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 May 2006
	Negotiations on the sight test fee for 200607 are under way.

Hospital Transport

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what obligations her Department places on (a) acute hospital trusts, (b) GP practices, (c) primary care trusts and (d) strategic health authorities to ensure that patients are able to access transport from their home to NHS appointments; and how much was spent by the NHS on support for such transport in the last year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 May 2006
	The publication Ambulance and other patient transport services: Operation, use and performance standards provides guidance on the eligibility criteria for patient transport services (PTS) and is available in the Library. This document states that medical need for non-emergency patient transport must be determined by a doctor, dentist or midwife and will depend upon the medical condition of the individual patient, the availability of private or public transport and distance to be travelled. The principle which should apply is that each patient should be able to reach hospital in a reasonable time and in reasonable comfort, without detriment to their medical condition.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for ensuring that there is provision of ambulance services, which could include patient transport services, to such extent as they consider necessary to meet all reasonable requirements. Therefore, it is for the local national health service to decide who provides patient transport services for eligible patients in their area. PCTs should apply the principles outlined in the aforementioned publication to consider each case on its merits or to develop local criteria for patient transport services use. The White Paper Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services signals our intent to broaden eligibility to patients referred for treatment in and out of hospital settings and during 200607 we will update guidance on eligibility for PTS to reflect the changes outlined in the White Paper.
	PCTs are responsible for ensuring that patients who travel to receive their traditional hospital care receive reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses where the patient can prove they require financial assistance. Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services also signals our intent to extend eligibility for the hospital travel costs scheme (HTCS) to include people who are referred by a health care professional for treatment in a primary care setting, providing that they meet the existing low-income criteria.
	For 200405, NHS ambulance trust expenditure on non-emergency PTS was approximately 228 million. Itemised data on expenditure by other NHS organisations on non-emergency patient transport is not available centrally. Information on HTCS expenditure is not collected centrally.

Primary Care Trusts (Portsmouth)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) other staff were employed in each primary care trust covering Portsmouth in each of the last three years; what the planned figures are for (i) 200607 and (ii) the next three financial years; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		All national health service staff for selected organisations by main staff group, as at 30 September 200305 Number (headcount)
		
			  2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Portsmouth City Teaching Primary Care Trust 2,084 2,076 2,222 
			 
			 All doctors(14) 159 157 159 
			 Health and community health service doctors(14) 46 43 40 
			 All general medical practitioners(15) 113 114 119 
			 
			 Nurses 496 457 474 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 403 379 397 
			 General practitioner (GP) practice nurses 93 78 77 
			 
			 Other NHS staff
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 298 331 355 
			 Support to clinical staff 524 508 563 
			 NHS infrastructure support 291 285 339 
			 
			 Practice staff other than practice nurses(16) 316 338 332 
		
	
	(14) Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are also GPs working part time in hospitals.
	(15) General medical practitioners includes contracted GPs, general medical service others, personal medical service others, GP registrars and GP retainers.
	(16) Practice staff other than practice nurses includes direct patient care, administrative and clerical and other.
	Sources:
	1. The Information Centre for health and social care, non-medical work force census
	2. The Information Centre for health and social care, medical and dental work force census
	3. The Information Centre for health and social care, general and personal medical services statistics
	It is the responsibility of PCTs and strategic health authorities to analyse their local situation and develop plans, in liaison with their local NHS trusts and primary care providers, to deliver high quality NHS services and take action to recruit the appropriate staff required to deliver these services.

Asylum/Immigration

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants are thought to be in the UK.

Tony McNulty: No government has ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally. By its very nature it is impossible to quantify accurately, and that remains the case. Although it is impossible to determine accurately how many people are in the UK illegally, the Home Office published a report which included an estimate of the size of the illegal migrant population in the UK in 2001. A copy of the RDS On-line report 29/05 Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom in 2001 can be found at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/notes/june_summaries. html#rdsolr2905.

Asylum/Immigration

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have been detained in each UK immigration detention centre in each of the last five years; and for how long each was detained.

Tony McNulty: This information is not available. The accompanying table shows the number of minors detained solely under Immigration Act powers who were removed or released from detention during the third quarter of 2005, broken down by length and place of detention. Period statistics covering those leaving detention during July to September 2005 have been published. Statistics on the total number of persons under 18 years of age at the time of leaving detention during this period, broken down by length of detention are published in the Quarterly Asylum bulletin. Published editions of this bulletin and other information on immigration and asylum are available on the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	
		Minors recorded as being removed or released from detention (excluding Oakington) in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, quarter three 2005, by length and place of detention(17)(18)
		
			   Of which: 
			   Last detained in 
			 Length of detention(19)(20) Total minors(20)(21) Colnbrook long term Colnbrook short term Dungavel Port of Dover Tinsley House Yarl's Wood 
		
		
			 Seven days or less 310  * * 10 45 250 
			 Eight to 14 days 50 5 45 
			 15 to 29 days 70 ** 65 
			 One month to less than two months 25  25 
			 Two months to less than three months 5  5 
			 Three months to less than four months *  * 
			 Total 455 * * * 10 50 390 
		
	
	(17) Figures rounded to the nearest 5, with  = 0, * = 1 or 2, may not sum due to rounding and exclude those whose parent(s) are detained under both criminal and immigration powers.
	(18) Relates to current period of sole detention only.
	(19) Two months is defined as 61 days; four months is defined as 122 days.
	(20) People recorded as being under 18 at the end of their period of detention. Figures are likely to overstate because applicants aged 18 or over may claim to be younger on arrival in the United Kingdom.
	(21) Some detainees may be recorded more than once if, for example, they are both bailed and subsequently removed in the time period shown.

Colnbrook and Harmondsworth Detention Centres

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times since January 2004 have external units been deployed in (a) Colnbrook and (b) Harmondsworth detention centres to deal with disturbances by detainees.

Tony McNulty: Since January 2004, no external units have been deployed at Colnbrook to deal with disturbances by detainees. External units have been deployed on one occasion at Harmondsworth since January 2004. This was on 19 July 2004 when there was a serious disturbance at the centre.

Child Support Agency

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many absent parents in the past year the Child Support Agency has threatened with legal action involving a possible custodial sentence for non-payment of maintenance; and how many were convicted and given a custodial sentence.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many absent parents in the past year the Child Support Agency has threatened with legal action involving a possible custodial sentence for non-payment of maintenance; and how many were convicted and given a custodial sentence.
	Commitment to prison or disqualification from holding a driving licence is the ultimate sanction available to the Agency for recovery of arrears of Child Support maintenance. The power to withdraw driving licences was brought into effect on 2 April 2001 (under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000). If the non-resident parent is found guilty of willful refusal or culpable neglect the court will decide which of the available sanctions is the most appropriate.
	Prior to the Secretary of State making an application to the court, a warning letter is issued to the non-resident parent advising of the intention to apply to the courts for committal to prison or disqualification from holding or obtaining a driving licence.
	During the year ending 31 March 2006 the Agency issued 1,155 warning letters to non-resident parents. Of these it was necessary to make 920 applications to court for committal or disqualification proceedings.
	The information provided below relates to the number of cases for which applications were made to court for committal or disqualification from holding or obtaining a driving licence proceedings. These numbers may include multiple actions against individual non-resident parents who continually fail to pay. Therefore, although several applications can be made in respect of individual debts the Court will incorporate these into the same hearing with one outcome.
	The following table details the number of cases referred to court and the outcomes for committal and disqualification proceedings over the same period.
	
		
			 Committal and disqualification proceedings year ending 31 March 2006 Cases 
		
		
			 Total of cases prepared for court with initial hearing date set 920 
			 Number of suspended committal sentences 376 
			 Number of actual committal sentences 15 
			 Number of suspended driving licence disqualification sentences 35 
			 Number of actual driving licence disqualification sentences 5 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Of the 920 cases prepared for court with an initial hearing date set, in a small number of hearings, the actual hearing date will occur after 31 March 2006.
	2. The fact that the number of suspensions and actual penalties is less than half the number of referrals is explained by the number of debtors who enter into agreements to pay rather than attend court. Similarly, only a very small number of debtors actually go to prison or lose their driving licences because the courts normally suspend a sentence on condition that the defendant commits to pay.

Child Support Agency

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average application processing time was for (a) disability living allowance, (b) income support and (c) the Child Support Agency in the last period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: Details of the average actual processing times for disability living allowance claims are in the table.
	
		Disability living allowance (DLA) average actual clearance times (AACT)
		
			  March 2006 200506 
		
		
			 DLA (normal rules) claims 33.1 34.5 
			 DLA (special rules) claims 5.1 5.5 
			 DLA renewals 33.0 31.5 
			 DLA reconsiderations 31.4 29.1 
			 DLA supervisions 50.0 43.6 
			 DLA appeals 34.7 31.8 
		
	
	In March 2006, income support claims were processed in an average of 12.2 days. For the full operational year from April 2005 to March 2006 the figure was 11.3 days.
	Information on processing times for child support applications can be found in the Agency's Quarterly Statistical Summary (QSS), published on 27 April 2006; a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.

Carers Benefits

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the levels of carers' benefits were as a proportion of average income in 1997; what they were in the last period for which figures are available; and what changes in the level of carers' benefits have occurred since 1997.

Anne McGuire: Depending on their personal circumstances, carers have access to the full range of social security benefits. In 199798, the average weekly amount of income maintenance benefits paid to working age carers entitled to carer's allowance was 59.74 1 or 22.6 per cent. of median income 2 in that year. In 200405, the latest year for which information is available, the corresponding figure was 82.08 1 , or 23.5 per cent. of median income 2 .
	We have increased the benefits available to carers in line with the movement in prices in every year since 199798. In 2001, we increased the carer premium in income support, and other income-related benefits, by an extra 10 a week. We have also increased the availability of carer's allowance by abolishing, in 2002, the age limit which precluded carers aged 65 and over from claiming carer's allowance. This change also gives older carers access to the additional amount for carers in pension credit. By linking the carer's allowance earnings limit to the level of the national insurance lower earnings limit , we have significantly increased the amount carers entitled to the benefit can earn from paid employment.
	1 Estimates based on the Family Resources Survey 199798 and 200405.
	2 Estimates based on Family Resources Survey data and are before housing costs.

Workplace Health Connect Scheme

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in establishing the west Midlands pathfinder of the Workplace Health Connect scheme.

Anne McGuire: Workplace Health Connect, including Workplace Health Connect West Midlands (the West Midlands 'pathfinder) launched on 23 February 2006 and is now up and running. The service provides free, impartial and practical advice and support on workplace health, safety and return to work issues to smaller businesses.
	The collaborative service, set up in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive offers an adviceline for England and Wales, and workplace visits from qualified Workplace Health Connect advisers. The workplace visits are available now, in the West Midlands and also the North East, North West, South Wales and Greater London.
	Human Focus Return to Work Limited operates Workplace Health Connect West Midlands and they have begun carrying out the workplace visits. They have also established a Regional Stakeholder Council which includes among others, representatives of small business, trade unions, the insurance industry, local authorities and a primary care trust.
	The West Midlands Stakeholder Council met for the first time on 24 February. The area covered by Workplace Health Connect West Midlands includes all unitary authorities and county districts as defined by the Government Office Region for West Midlands. 93 per cent. of callers to Workplace Health Connect say they are satisfied or very satisfied with the service they have received. Smaller businesses (those with between five and 250 workers) and their workers can access the service by calling the adviceline on 0845 609 6006.
	Further information on the service can be found at: www.workplacehealthconnect.co.uk and www.hse.gov.uk/workplacehealth

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the net revenue from council tax receipts was in (a) England and (b) Great Britain in each year since 199798; and if he will estimate what the revenue will be in 200607.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The net revenue receipts (in  million) from council tax in England each year since 199798 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Net receipts ( million) 
		
		
			 199798 9,562 
			 199899 10,596 
			 19992000 11,493 
			 200001 12,410 
			 200102 13,359 
			 200203 14,624 
			 200304 16,574 
			 200405 17,592 
			 200506 18,354 
			 200607 19,067 
		
	
	The data for the net revenue receipts from council tax in Wales and Scotland are available from the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Executive respectively.
	The data for 199798 to 200405 are taken from QRC4 forms and are outturn figures; this is gross council tax due less council tax benefit paid.
	The data for 200506 and 200607 are taken from BR1, BR2 and BR3 forms and are budget figures for council tax requirement less the amount council tax benefit expected to be paid in the year.

Income Tax

Ben Wallace: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost would be to the nearest 100 million of raising the personal tax allowance to 10,000 per annum.

Dawn Primarolo: The cost of increasing to 10,000 all personal allowances, including age-related personal allowances, in 200607 is 28.0 billion.
	The income tax information is based upon the 200304 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) and projected forward to 200607 in line with 2006 Budget HM Treasury assumptions.
	The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response to the tax change which could be significant given the scale of the change.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations the Valuation Office Agency has received on whether the London congestion charge zone (a) represents a national change in circumstances for the valuation of and (b) justifies amended valuations of inner London businesses for business rate purposes.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	Valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency in central London have received approximately 10,500 proposals from ratepayers or their agents to alter the rating lists, making representations that the Congestion Charge Zone has affected the rating valuation of their business premises.
	Whether a reduction in rateable value is justified will depend on the facts and circumstances of individual cases. These are matters for the valuation officers or in the absence of agreementfor the independent valuation tribunal or ultimately for the courts to decide.
	Most of the proposals made have been withdrawn with no amendment made to the assessments.

Business Growth (Staffordshire)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much (a) Tamworth borough council and (b) Staffordshire county council received under the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive in 200506; and what proportion of the amount retained by each local authority has been allocated to supporting business growth to date.

Phil Woolas: Tamworth borough council received 284,163 and Staffordshire county council received 1,091,656 under the Local Authority Business Growth Incentives scheme (LABGI) in 200506.
	All monies awarded under the LABGI scheme are not ring-fenced and we do not hold information on their use. It is for local authorities to decide how their LABGI reward is spent. Some may invest in further business growth while others may choose to invest in better public services for their communities or to keep down council tax pressures.

Children's Services

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many nursery and crche places are provided for people working in his Office; what charges are made for the provision of such services; and what other facilities are provided for the children of employees of her Office.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is a member of the Westminster Holiday Playscheme that runs every school holiday. The ODPM funds 50 per cent. of the cost of places and the cost to staff is 12.50 per child. For the latest scheme (30 May 2006 to 2 June 2006) 42 places were available for the entire scheme although the number allocated to OPDM staff has not yet been confirmed. For previous schemes the following number of places were allocated:
	
		
			  Places 
		
		
			 Easter 2005 13 
			 June 2005 8 
			 Summer 2005 16 
			 October 2005 3 
			 December 2005 7 
			 April 2006 7 
		
	
	The ODPM also runs a Childcare Vouchers Scheme. Full time staff are eligible to receive vouchers to a maximum value of 23 per week (part time staff will receive vouchers pro rata in relation to the numbers of hours they work). To be eligible for these vouchers staff must be employed by the Crown and work as a civil servant in ODPM on a permanent or fixed-term contract. Unless they are a single parent or their partner is disabled or in full time education, the member of staff's partner must be in full time employment The member of staff or their partner must not be receiving support for the same child from another employer or another government department.
	The child that they are claiming child care vouchers for must:
	(a) Be living with the member of staff
	(b) Be under five years old
	(c) Not be in full time education;
	The child carer must be registered.

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the average council tax per dwelling in each Government office region was in England in each year since 199798.

Phil Woolas: The requested information is tabled as follows:
	
		Average council tax per dwelling in England 
		
			 Government office region 199798 199899 19992000 20001 200102 200203 200304 200405 200506 200607 
		
		
			 North East 534 576 613 645 676 735 801 851 891 928 
			 North West (22)591 (22)556 (22)653 698 732 772 840 881 918 961 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 514 550 590 622 663 712 786 836 876 917 
			 East Midlands 600 548 631 672 713 784 859 916 952 994 
			 West Midlands 490 548 632 670 718 111 855 901 939 979 
			 East of England 542 524 667 714 762 842 970 1,036 1,078 1,129 
			 London 597 627 669 713 764 819 969 1,035 1,078 1,128 
			 South East 601 573 714 760 809 887 1,026 1,098 1,147 1,201 
			 South West 559 600 658 704 745 823 938 1,008 1,054 1,107 
			 Merseyside(23) 587 669 719
		
	
	(22) Excludes Merseyside.
	(23) Included in North West from 200001.
	Note:
	Amounts shown for average council tax per dwelling include amounts funded from council tax benefit.
	Source:
	BR and CTB1 returns

Departmental Websites

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list (a) the websites operated by her Department and (b) the reports placed on the internet in March 2006, indicating in each case whether paper copies were also made available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is as follows.
	(a) The websites operated by the Office of the Deputy Prime are listed as follows:
	www.odpm.gov.uk
	www.neighbourhood.gov.uk
	www.socialexclusion.gov.uk
	www.bvpi.gov.uk (Best value performance indicators)
	www.frsonline.fire.gov.uk
	www.spkweb.org.uk (Supporting people programme)
	http://www.gos. gov.uk/national/ (Government office for the regions)
	www.localegov.gov.uk
	www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk
	www.info4local.gov.uk
	www.firekills.gov.uk (Fire safety campaigns)
	www.renewal.net
	www.cleanersafergreener.gov.uk
	www.iggi.gov.uk (Intra governmental geographic information)
	www.planningportal.gov.uk
	www.futureleadership.gov.uk
	www.spdirectory.org.uk (Supporting people directory of services)
	www.nlud.org.uk (National land use directory)
	www.firesafetytoolbox.org.uk
	www.firelink.org.uk
	www.localvisionforum.net
	www.bmespark.org.uk (Black minority ethnic supporting people)
	www.xoq83.dial.pipex.com (Local government pension scheme)
	(b) The following reports were published on the internet during March 2006. The list indicates whether print versions have been made available. In addition we operate a print on demand facility for all web only publications.
	
		
			  Document title Print version available Web only (i.e. PDF) 
		
		
			 A Decision Document on the Scope of Development Control Powers to be Conferred on the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation No Yes 
			 A Final Report to ODPM Building Regulations Division Under the Building Operational Performance Framework No Yes 
			 Alternative Approaches to Neighbourhood Management: Seven case study summariesResearch report 27 No Yes 
			 Alternative Approaches to Neighbourhood Management: Six full case study reports No Yes 
			 An Exploratory Assessment of the Economic Case for Regeneration Investment from a National Perspective No Yes 
			 Approved Document F: Ventilation (2006 edition) Yes No 
			 Approved Document L1A: Conservation of fuel and power (New dwellings) (2006 edition) Yes No 
			 Approved Document L1B: Conservation of fuel and power (Existing dwellings) (2006 edition) Yes No 
			 Approved Document L2A: Conservation of fuel and power (New buildings other than dwellings) (2006 edition) Yes No 
			 Approved Document L2B: Conservation of fuel and power (Existing buildings other than dwellings) (2006 edition) Yes No 
			 Approved Document P: Electrical safetyDwellings (2006 edition) Yes No 
			 Assessing the Impact of Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder Interventions: Displacement issues No Yes 
			 Asthma/Dust Mite Study: Final report No Yes 
			 Building Operational Performance Framework: Development of acoustic performance standards for robust detailsFinal report No Yes 
			 Changes to Planning Regulations for Casinos: Circular 02/06 Yes No 
			 Changes to the Use Classes Order for Casinos: Full regulatory impact assessment No Yes 
			 Codes of Practice for Student Accommodation: Responses to consultation on approved codes No Yes 
			 Community Management and Ownership of Assets: Final report from the work group to the neighbourhoods project board No Yes 
			 Consent Regimes: Reducing unnecessary bureaucracy No Yes 
			 Design Coding in Practice: An evaluationUrban research summary 22 Yes No 
			 Development of Commercial and Industrial Vacancy Statistics: Technical report No Yes 
			 English House Condition Survey 2003: Annual reportDecent homes and decent places Yes No 
			 English House Condition Survey 2004: Headline reportDecent homes and decent places Yes No 
			 English House Condition Survey: Summary of the 2003 annual reportDecent homes and decent places No Yes 
			 English Regional Governance in 2004 No Yes 
			 English Regional Governance in 2004: Quantitative study of baseline data No Yes 
			 Ex-Post Evaluation of the English, Scottish and Welsh Objective 5b Programmes No Yes 
			 Fire Control Governance Arrangements: Consultation on detailed proposals No Yes 
			 Fire Service Emergency Cover Toolkit Review Manual No Yes 
			 Guidance For New Home Occupiers: Final report No Yes 
			 Guidance on New Financial Arrangements for Firefighter Pensions with Effect from April 2006 No Yes 
			 Home Save Product Testing: Qualitative research findings No Yes 
			 Houses in Multiple Occupation and Selective Licensing Draft Regulations: Response to consultation No Yes 
			 Implementing Electronic Government 6: Proforma document for national park authorities No Yes 
			 Innovative Products and Building Regulations No Yes 
			 Listed Buildings Casework: A consultation paper Yes No 
			 Local Area Agreements: Guidance for round three and refresh of rounds one and two No Yes 
			 London Aggregates Working Party: Annual Report 2005 Yes No 
			 Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder Programme Baseline Report: SummaryResearch report 26 No Yes 
			 Neighbourhood Management: At the turning point? Research report 23 Yes No 
			 New Firefighters' Pension Scheme Guidance Templates No Yes 
			 ODPM Evidence Innovation Strategy 200508: Consultation paper No Yes 
			 ODPM's Sustainable Development Action Plan No Yes 
			 Part L and Approved Document F, 2006: Regulatory impact assessment Yes No 
			 Planning Delivery Grant Final Allocations 20062007 No Yes 
			 Planning for Biodiversity and Geological Conservation: A guide to good practice Yes No 
			 Planning Inquiries into Major Infrastructure Projects: Economic impact reports: Circular 04/06 Yes No 
			 Potential Further Developments of Fire Service Emergency Cover No Yes 
			 Provisions on Empty Dwelling Management Orders: Regulatory impact assessment No Yes 
			 Research into the Effectiveness of Youth Training and Diversion Schemes No Yes 
			 Review of the Code of Best Practice on Mobile Phone Network Development: Final report No Yes 
			 Rolling Out Neighbourhood Management: A theme report from the Pathfinder Programme National EvaluationResearch report 25 No Yes 
			 Sanitation Research Framework Agreement Supporting the Building Regulations Research Programme No Yes 
			 Small Firms Impact Test: New proposals for Part L of the Building Regulations No Yes 
			 State of the English Cities Yes No 
			 Summary of Responses on Changes to Planning Regulations for Casinos No Yes 
			 Sustainable Communities: Settled homes; changing livesOne year onPolicy briefing 14 Yes No 
			 Take-Up Campaign and Implementing Electronic Government Submission Letter No Yes 
			 The Building Regulations and the Building (Approved Inspectors etc) Regulations 2000: ODPM circular 03/2006 Yes No 
			 The Guide to the Right to Manage: Consultation paper Yes No 
			 The National Evaluation of Single Local Management Centres: Research report 22 Yes No 
			 The Planning Delivery Grant Determination 2006 No. 31/286 Yes No 
			 The Production of Smoke and Burning Droplets from Products Used to Form Wall and Ceiling Linings No Yes 
			 Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality in Schools: Guidance report 202825 No Yes 
			 Total 22 42

Deprivation (Somerset)

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the local authority wards in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) Somerset which are in the top 30 per cent. of wards in England by multiple deprivation indicators; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004 (IMD 2004) was constructed at lower layer super output area (SOA) level and not at ward level. The new geographical unit was introduced to overcome the problems associated with wardsfrequent boundary changes and differences in population sizes. With an average population of 1,500 people, SOAs are far better than wards at picking up small pockets of deprivation.
	The following table includes the list of SOAs in Yeovil constituency and Somerset that fall within the 30 per cent. most deprived SOAs in England. The data shows that of the 74 SOAs in Yeovil constituency only seven (9.5 per cent.) fall within the 30 per cent. most disadvantaged SOAs in England and all seven of these are located in the borough of South Somerset. In total there are 327 SOAs in the local authorities that make up Somerset (including Yeovil). Of these 40 (12 per cent.) are among the 30 per cent. most deprived in England. The most deprived SOA (EO1029106) is located in Bridgwater Sydenham in Sedgemoor.
	
		
			 SOA code Local authority name Government office region Rank of IMD(24) 
		
		
			 E01029046 Mendip South West 4,318 
			 E01029062 Mendip South West 5,071 
			 E01029042 Mendip South West 8,270 
			 E01029048 Mendip South West 8,944 
			 E01029106 Sedgemoor South West 2,580 
			 E01029100 Sedgemoor South West 4,344 
			 E01029132 Sedgemoor South West 4,545 
			 E01029109 Sedgemoor South West 5,611 
			 E01029107 Sedgemoor South West 5,982 
			 E01029112 Sedgemoor South West 6,755 
			 E01029111 Sedgemoor South West 7,280 
			 E01029095 Sedgemoor South West 7,321 
			 E01029110 Sedgemoor South West 7,717 
			 E01029098 Sedgemoor South West 7,947 
			 E01029099 Sedgemoor South West 8,588 
			 E01029105 Sedgemoor South West 8,959 
			 E01029097 Sedgemoor South West 9,086 
			 E01029096 Sedgemoor South West 9,310 
			 E01029116 Sedgemoor South West 9,513 
			 E01029131 Sedgemoor South West 9,605 
			 E01029234 South Somerset(25) South West 5,363 
			 E01029247 South Somerset(25) South West 5,715 
			 E01029239 South Somerset(25) South West 5,855 
			 E01029236 South Somerset South West 7,883 
			 E01029233 South Somerset South West 8,442 
			 E01029170 South Somerset South West 8,974 
			 E01029237 South Somerset South West 9,065 
			 E01029293 Taunton Deane South West 3,349 
			 E01029297 Taunton Deane South West 4,923 
			 E01029292 Taunton Deane South West 4,928 
			 E01029299 Taunton Deane South West 7,840 
			 E01029311 Taunton Deane South West 8,606 
			 E01029280 Taunton Deane South West 8,623 
			 E01029286 Taunton Deane South West 9,112 
			 E01029307 Taunton Deane South West 9,628 
			 E01029344 West Somerset South West 7,397 
			 E01029339 West Somerset South West 8,303 
			 E01029341 West Somerset South West 8,835 
			 E01029326 West Somerset South West 9,504 
			 E01029333 West Somerset South West 9,655 
		
	
	(24) Where one is most deprived.
	(25) All in Yeovil Parli.

E-Government

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what targets the Government have set local authorities in each Implementing Electronic Government round with regards to the (a) National Land and Property Gazetteer and (b) Local Land and Property Gazetteer; and what the outturn results have been in each relevant year.

Phil Woolas: There are no statutory Implementing Electronic Government (IEG) targets for the National Land and Property Gazetteer and Local Land and Property Gazetteer, although information is collected through the IEG return to inform national policy. In December 2005, 87 per cent. of local authorities in England had established a regularly-maintained link from their Local Land  Property Gazetteer (LLPG) to the National Land  Property Gazetteer (NLPG), with 13 per cent. in the process of implementing this link.

GLA Precept

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what was the Greater London Authority precept, and its predecessor fire/police precepts in London, on an average band D property in each year since 199697; and what the figure is for 200506.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Greater London Authority precept, and its predecessor fire/police precepts in London, on an average band D property since 199798, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 
			  Metropolitan police London Fire and Civil Defence GLA 
		
		
			 199697 56 21  
			 199798 63 25  
			 199899 76 26  
			 19992000 83 28  
			 200001   123 
			 200102   151 
			 200203   174 
			 200304   224 
			 200405   241 
			 200506   255 
		
	
	The data are as reported on BR2 and BR3 forms submitted by the respective authorities to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister each year.

Homelessness

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homeless households were accepted by local authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need in the East of England in 200405; and how many such households contained (a) (i) one, (ii) two and (iii) three or more children and (b) an expectant mother but no other children.

Yvette Cooper: The total number of households accepted during 200405 by local authorities in the East of England Government office region as being eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need was 10,150, of which 5,020 contained dependent children. Of these 5,020, 2,820 had one child, 1,370 had two children and 830 had three or more children. An additional 1,410 households contained an expectant mother, but no other dependent children.

Local Government Finance

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much additional income has been raised as a result of local authorities using their discretionary power to abolish the council tax discount on empty homes since 2004; to whom has this additional income been allocated; and on what it has been spent.

Phil Woolas: The amount of additional revenue raised by local authorities using their discretionary powers to reduce the council tax discounts on long-term empty homes was:
	49 million in 200405; and
	72 million in 200506.
	This additional revenue raised is retained by local authorities. The increase in council tax base is taken into account in calculating formula grant. Any net increase in revenue for a local authority is not ring-fenced for spending on any particular activity.
	These figures are estimates based on information reported by local authorities on the CTB1 and CTB1 (S) forms.

Local Government Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average council tax per (a) dwelling and (b) Band D in each local authority in England was in each year since 199798.

Phil Woolas: Details of the average council tax per dwelling and Band D in each local authority in England are published on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website. The details can be found under Information For Taxpayers at Council Taxes at: http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/ct.htm.

Local Government Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which billing authority has the (a) highest and (b) lowest Band D council tax in England for 200607.

Phil Woolas: Details of the Band D council tax in each local authority in England in 200607 are published on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website. The details can be found under Information For Taxpayers at Council Taxes at: http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/ct.htm.

Local Government Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what percentage of (a) council tax and (b) business rates was not collected by each of the 10 metropolitan districts in the county of Greater Manchester in each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The following tables provide amounts of (a) council tax and (b) non-domestic rates in each of the last five years not collected in-year, and expressed as a percentage of the amount collectable in year.
	
		Amount of council tax not collected and as percentage of amount collectable
		
			  200001 200102 200203 200304 200405 
			  000 % 000 % 000 % 000 % 000 % 
		
		
			 Bolton 3,860 6.4 3,433 5.3 3,252 4.8 3,080 4.1 3,153 4.1 
			 Bury 1,713 4.0 1,431 3.1 1,342 2.7 1,451 2.6 1,512 2.7 
			 Manchester 3,863 5.8 4,171 5.8 10,020 12.1 9,370 10.5 9,192 9.7 
			 Oldham 2,030 4.2 2,334 4.4 2,881 5.2 2,637 4.2 2,358 3.6 
			 Rochdale 2,199 5.0 2,157 4.6 1,960 3.9 1,806 3.3 1,966 3.5 
			 Salford 2,879 6.0 5,958 11.2 5,179 9.3 5,256 8.6 5,993 9.4 
			 Stockport 3,104 3.7 3,576 4.0 4,063 4.3 4,201 4.2 3,754 3.6 
			 Tameside 1,536 3.2 1,586 3.1 1,508 2.8 1,628 2.9 1,605 2.7 
			 Trafford 1,895 3.9 2,060 4.0 2,144 3.9 2,233 3.6 2,411 3.5 
			 Wigan 2,874 4.2 2,739 3.7 2,563 3.3 2,732 3.2 2,708 3.1 
		
	
	
		Amount of national non-domestic rates not collected and as percentage of amount collectable
		
			  200001 200102 200203 200304 200405 
			  000 % 000 % 000 % 000 % 000 % 
		
		
			 Bolton 2,028 3.6 912 1.5 1,120 1.7 1,982 3.0 1,140 1.7 
			 Bury 710 2.2 553 1.6 515 1.5 392 1.1 694 2.0 
			 Manchester 5,145 3.1 5,690 2.9 9,206 4.3 10,232 4.8 9,615 4.5 
			 Oldham 1,530 3.8 995 2.3 1,250 2.9 1,207 2.7 1,348 2.9 
			 Rochdale 1,462 3.3 1,555 3.2 990 2.0 629 1.3 754 1.5 
			 Salford 2,585 4.3 2,683 4.2 2,637 3.8 2,075 3.0 2,196 3.2 
			 Stockport 2,243 3.5 1,916 2.8 2,311 3.3 1,661 2.4 1,591 2.2 
			 Tameside 212 0.6 937 2.5 576 1.5 432 1.1 529 1.3 
			 Trafford 4,396 4.4 4,567 4.3 3,224 2.9 2,420 2.2 3,043 2.7 
			 Wigan 1,504 2.9 1,666 2.9 1,405 2.4 1,379 2.3 1,456 2.4

Local Government Finance

Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on average in real terms by (a) district councils and (b) shire county councils on employing staff in (i) 1998 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: Average expenditure on employees by district councils and shire county councils in England in 199899 and 200405 at 200405 prices are shown in the following table.
	
		
			million 
			  District councils Shire county councils 
		
		
			 199899 8.4 304.5 
			 200405 11.3 448.5 
		
	
	Total expenditure on employees is reported by local authorities to ODPM on Revenue Outturn (RO) forms. This includes all direct and indirect employee expenses and contributions to employee-related provisions, including national insurance contributions, pensions and employee related expenses.
	The 199899 prices have been re-valued at 200405 prices using the latest ONS/HMT GDP deflators.
	The large difference in employee expenditure between district and shire county councils is due to the different responsibilities different types of councils have.
	Figures for 200405 are not directly comparable with figures for 199899. This is because the outturn data for 199899 have been calculated on a non-FRS (Financial Reporting Standard) 17 basis while the outturn data for 200405 have been calculated on a FRS 17 basis.

Local Government Finance

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total expenditure of local authorities was in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: Total revenue expenditure of local authorities in England in each of the last five years can be found in table 4 of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) Statistical Release: Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: 200405 final outturn. This release is on the ODPM website at:
	http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/stats/natstats.htm#rev.
	Figures in this table are presented on a non-financial reporting standard 17 (FRS17) basis.

Local Vision Forum Website

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many unique visitors the http://www.localvisionforum.net/ website has received in each month since its establishment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The visitor statistics for www.localvisionforum.net are as follows.
	
		
			  2006 
			  March April 
		
		
			 Visits to the forum homepage 2,052 2,270 
			 Unique visitors to the forum 977 1,194 
		
	
	As at 25 April 2006, 538 individuals have registered to use the forum, who between them have made 114 written contributions to the consultation through the forum.

Police Precept

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the police precept is on Band D bills in each police authority in (a) 199798 and (b) 200607.

Phil Woolas: The council tax precepts levied by each police authority on Band D properties in 199798 and 200607 are shown in s in the following table.
	
		
			
			  199798 200607 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset Police Authority 52 138 
			 Bedfordshire Police Authority 53 118 
			 Cambridgeshire Police Authority 51 142 
			 Cheshire Police Authority 51 108 
			 Cleveland Police Authority 55 151 
			 Cumbria Police Authority 58 163 
			 Derbyshire Police Authority 51 135 
			 Devon and Cornwall Police Authority 50 126 
			 Dorset Police Authority 64 149 
			 Durham Police Authority 52 101 
			 Essex Police Authority 54 111 
			 Gloucestershire Police Authority 51 171 
			 Greater Manchester Police Authority 54 111 
			 Hampshire Police Authority 52 119 
			 Hertfordshire Police Authority 52 124 
			 Humberside Police Authority 52 142 
			 Kent Police Authority 52 116 
			 Lancashire Police Authority 53 113 
			 Leicestershire Police Authority 52 132 
			 Lincolnshire Police Authority 69 125 
			 Merseyside Police Authority 67 121 
			 Metropolitan Police Authority 63 211 
			 Norfolk Police Authority 51 154 
			 North Yorkshire Police Authority 50 180 
			 Northamptonshire Police Authority 71 162 
			 Northumbria Police Authority 53 72 
			 Nottinghamshire Police Authority 50 132 
			 South Yorkshire Police Authority 53 113 
			 Staffordshire Police Authority 55 153 
			 Suffolk Police Authority 51 131 
			 Surrey Police Authority 45 163 
			 Sussex Police Authority 52 116 
			 Thames Valley Police Authority 53 133 
			 Warwickshire Police Authority 52 139 
			 West Mercia Police Authority 51 150 
			 West Midlands Police Authority 53 88 
			 West Yorkshire Police Authority 53 112 
			 Wiltshire Police Authority 55 133

Police Precept

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what revenue was raised from the police precept on council tax in 199798 in each police authority in England and Wales; and what the forecast is for 200607.

Phil Woolas: The police precepts levied in 199798 and 200607 for each police authority in England are shown in 000s in the following table.
	We do not hold data for police authorities in Wales; the data are available from the Welsh Assembly Government.
	
		
			   000 
			  199798 200607 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset Police Authority 25,562 74,378 
			 Bedfordshire Police Authority 9,502 23,381 
			 Cambridgeshire Police Authority 11,706 36,725 
			 Cheshire Police Authority 17,123 39,432 
			 Cleveland Police Authority 8,595 25,136 
			 Cumbria Police Authority 9,229 28,314 
			 Derbyshire Police Authority 15,094 43,121 
			 Devon and Cornwall Police Authority 26,296 74,183 
			 Dorset Police Authority 16,604 42,843 
			 Durham Police Authority 8,882 18,375 
			 Essex Police Authority 29,275 69,094 
			 Gloucestershire Police Authority 10,047 36,692 
			 Greater Manchester Police Authority 40,168 85,790 
			 Hampshire Police Authority 31,760 79,278 
			 Hertfordshire Police Authority 17,586 53,433 
			 Humberside Police Authority 13,435 39,924 
			 Kent Police Authority 28,699 70,894 
			 Lancashire Police Authority 22,860 52,278 
			 Leicestershire Police Authority 14,504 40,463 
			 Lincolnshire Police Authority 13,398 27,957 
			 Merseyside Police Authority 27,025 51,479 
			 Metropolitan Police Authority 181,828 607,418 
			 Norfolk Police Authority 13,026 44,024 
			 North Yorkshire Police Authority 12,993 52,165 
			 Northamptonshire Police Authority 13,422 35,954 
			 Northumbria Police Authority 21,251 30,464 
			 Nottinghamshire Police Authority 14,917 42,586 
			 South Yorkshire Police Authority 18,867 42,295 
			 Staffordshire Police Authority 17,712 53,360 
			 Suffolk Police Authority 11,300 31,976 
			 Surrey Police Authority 15,039 78,662 
			 Sussex Police Authority 29,062 70,990 
			 Thames Valley Police Authority 40,616 110,771 
			 Warwickshire Police Authority 9,171 27,019 
			 West Mercia Police Authority 19,658 64,289 
			 West Midlands Police Authority 39,556 67,997 
			 West Yorkshire Police Authority 31,837 73,219 
			 Wiltshire Police Authority 11,778 31,609

Public Relations/Marketing Agencies

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) public relations, (b) marketing and (c) communication agencies her Department (i) employs, (ii) plan to employ and (iii) have employed in the last 12 months; and if she will state the purpose of each such employment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In the last 12 months the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have employed the following Public Relations agencies:
	The Central Office of Informationworking on Fire Safety
	Blue Rubiconworking on the Local E-Gov take up campaign and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme awareness campaign.
	Band and Brownworking on the awareness campaign for Home Information Packs
	Amazonworking on Houses of Multiple Occupancy Property Licence, and the Housing Heath and Safety Rating System.
	The marketing and communications agencies used by the Office over the last 12 months are as follows.
	Carat and COImedia buying
	Euro RSCGworking on Fire Safety advertising, and Houses of Multiple Occupancy Property Licence, Tenancy Deposit Scheme and Fire Order Reform
	Leo BurnettHome Information Pack advertising
	Rainey KellyFire Service recruitment advertising
	All future work will be tendered through the COI agency roster or by open competition.

Social Exclusion Unit

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funds have been allocated to the Social Exclusion Unit for each of the last eight years.

Phil Woolas: The expenditure of the Social Exclusion Unit for the last eight years is set out as follows.
	
		
			   
		
		
			 199899 681,119 
			 19992000 1,570,000 
			 200001 2,246,247 
			 200102 2,156,000 
			 200203 2,676,418 
			 200304 2,931,192 
			 200405 3,442,100 
			 200506 2,697,300

Social Services Funding

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what account is taken in local government social services funding formulae of the proportion of (a) over-65s, (b) over-75s and (c) over-85s in the local population.

Phil Woolas: The basic amount for the social services for older people relative need formula is based on the number of household and supported residents aged 65 years and over. A further top-up is provided based on the proportion of such residents aged 90 and over. The full formula is described in section 4 of the Local Government Finance Report (England) 200607.

Supporting People Programme

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was paid to each relevant local authority in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes in (a) 200405 and (b) 200506 under the Supporting People programme; how much she plans to allocate to each in (i) 200607, (ii) 200708 and (iii) 200809; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Supporting People is administered through top-tier local authorities and, for the area in question, the relevant authorities are Buckinghamshire county council and Milton Keynes council. The grants paid or due to those authorities for the years 200405 to 200708 are as set out in the following table.
	
		
			  200405 200506 200607 200708 
		
		
			 Buckinghamshire county council 
			 Supporting People Programme Grant 5,882,637 5,586,354 5,489,753 5,215,265 
			 Supporting People Administration Grant 331,994 265,595 265,595 265,595 
			  
			 Milton Keynes council 
			 Supporting People Programme Grant 5,616,818 5,333,923 5,241,687 4,979,603 
			 Supporting People Administration Grant 211,126 143,301 143,301 143,301 
		
	
	In line with my announcement of 5 December 2005, the programme grant allocations given in the aforementioned table for each authority for 200708 are minimum allocations, set at 95 per cent. of the allocations for 200607. This approach has been taken to allow us to consider, following the recent consultation on the development of a Supporting People strategy, how best to approach future programme grant allocations. Full programme grant allocations for all Supporting People authorities will be confirmed before the 2006 summer recess.
	Similarly, the administration grant allocations given in the table for each authority for 200708 are indicative allocations, and allocations will be confirmed before the 2006 summer recess.
	Allocations for all authorities for 200809 to 201011 will be set following the conclusion of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Valuation Office Agency's policy is on the council tax or business rates liability of live-work units; and what changes have been made to this policy since 1997.

Phil Woolas: The criteria applied by valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) are set out in the Council Tax Manual published by the VOA on its website at www.voa.gov.uk. The guidance was last updated on 4 March 2004 to reflect the decision of the Lands Tribunal in the case of Tully v. Jorgensen (VO) 2003 RA 233.

Children's Legal Centre

John Spellar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been paid in legal aid to the Children's Legal Centre in each of the last three years.

Harriet Harman: The legal aid paid to the Children's Legal Centre in each of the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 200506 279,983 
			 200405 183,023 
			 200304 98,896 
		
	
	These figures represent payments to the Children's Legal Centre for legal services provided to publicly funded clients.

Court Funds

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many accounts on behalf of (a) individual litigants and (b) clients of the Court of Protection are held in the Court Funds Special Account; what the average balance was of the fund over the last 12 months; how many transactions the Account administered in that period; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The average balance of funds held in the CFO Special Account for 200506 was 3.12 billion. There are 83,195 accounts held on behalf of individual litigants and 18,895 accounts held on behalf of clients of the Court of Protection. During the course of the last year there have been 912,075 transactions.

Court Funds

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what rate of interest has been payable on the Court Funds Special Account over the last 12 months; how much above base rate this rate was; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Special Account has paid interest at a rate of 6 per cent. throughout the last 12 months. The base rate, set by the Bank of England was at 4.75 per cent. from March until August 2005 when it changed to its present rate of 4.50 per cent. Interest rates on Court Funds accounts are kept under regular review.

Court Funds

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many staff are employed in the Court Funds Office; what the (a) salary and (b) on-costs are; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Court Funds Office staffing level has remained constant over the past reporting year with 195 staff employed as of 31 March 2006. The salary cost for staff for the financial year 200506 was 4.96 million, and on-costs were 0.6 million. The total cost for staff was therefore 5.52 million.

Courts

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the (a) magistrates courts, (b) Crown courts and (c) county courts which have closed in each year since January 1995, broken down by parliamentary constituency; and what (i) the date of and (ii) reason for each closure was.

Harriet Harman: The information available to my Department on the county, Crown and magistrates courthouses that have closed since 1995 (broken down by parliamentary constituency) is set out in the following tables.
	It has not been possible to include individual reasons for closure against each building. However, the reasons for closures include:
	under utilisation
	cost effectiveness
	lack of secure custody facilities to meet Human Rights Act requirements
	lack of separate waiting area for witnesses and victims away from defendants
	facilities being out dated and not meeting Disability Discrimination Act requirements
	alternative, improved provision of access to justice (including where the courthouse is being replaced with a new building containing modern and fit for purpose facilities)
	Since 1995 a number of new courthouses have been built which has improved the standard of facilities provided to court users.
	
		Magistrates courts
		
			  Courthouse closed Date of closure Constituency 
		
		
			 1995 Nottingham (Guildhall) 30 November 1995 Nottingham, South 
			 1995 Nottingham (Sand Field House) 30 November 1995 Nottingham, South 
			 1995 Bala 31 December 1995 Merionnydd Nant Conway 
			 1995 Hunstanton 31 December 1995 Norfolk North-West 
			 1995 Pembroke 31 December 1995 Carmarthen, West and Pembrokeshire, South 
			 1995 Tywn 31 December 1995 Merionnydd Nant Conway 
			 1995 Whitminster 31 December 1995 Stroud 
			 1996 Bromley (South Street) 28 February 1996 Beckenham 
			 1996 Mansfield (Commercial Street) 28 February 1996 Mansfield 
			 1996 Hornsea 31 March 1996 Beverley and Holderness 
			 1996 Howden 31 March 2006 Haltemprice and Howden 
			 1996 Market Weighton 31 March 2006 Yorkshire East 
			 1996 Old Street 12 July 1996 Hackney, South and Shoreditch 
			 1996 Halstead 31 August 1996 Saffron Walden 
			 1996 Biddulph 30 September 1996 Staffordshire Moorlands 
			 1996 Kidsgrove 30 September 1996 Staffordshire Moorlands 
			 1996 Cheadle 30 September 1996 Cheadle 
			 1996 Tonbridge 31 October 1996 Tonbridge and Malling 
			 1996 Amlwch 31 December 1996 YNS Mon 
			 1996 Colwyn Bay 31 December 1996 Clwyd, West 
			 1996 Bedale 31 December 1996 Vale of York 
			 1996 Easingwold 31 December 1996 Vale of York 
			 1996 East Dereham 31 December 1996 Norfolk Mid 
			 1996 Bleanau Festiniog 31 December 1996 Blaenau Gwent 
			 1996 Ingleton 31 December 1996 Skipton and Ripon 
			 1996 Leyburn 31 December 1996 Richard (Yorks) 
			 1996 Llangollen 31 December 1996 Clwyd, South 
			 1996 Thirsk 31 December 1996 Vale of York 
			 1997 Ellesmere Port 31 March 1997 Ellesmere Port and Neston 
			 1997 Hampstead 31 March 1997 Hampstead and Highgate 
			 1997 Marylebone 31 March 1997 Cities of London and Westminster 
			 1997 Otley 31 March 1997 Leeds, North-West 
			 1997 Seaham 31 March 1997 Easington 
			 1997 Bromsgrove 31 May 1997 Bromsgrove 
			 1997 Ledbury 31 May 1997 Leominster 
			 1997 Hebburn 5 June 1997 Jarrow 
			 1997 South Shields (Kepple Street) 5 June 1997 South Shields 
			 1997 Chippenham (Market Place) 30 June 1997 North Wiltshire 
			 1997 Ashton-under-Lyne (Manchester Road) 31 August 1997 Ashton-under-Lyne 
			 1997 Duckinsfield 31 August 1997 Denton and Reddish 
			 1997 Thorne 31 August 1997 Doncaster, North 
			 1997 Pontardawe 9 October 1997 Neath 
			 1997 Braintree 31 December 1997 Braintree 
			 1997 Stokeley 31 December 1997 Richmond (Yorks) 
			 1997 Clacton on Sea 31 December 1997 Harwich 
			 1997 Bargoed 31 December 1997 Caerphilly 
			 1997 Monmouth 31 December 1997 Monmouth 
			 1997 Pontlttyn 31 December 1997 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 
			 1997 Pontypool 31 December 1997 Torfaen 
			 1998 Malton 6 February 1998 Ryedale 
			 1998 Marlborough Street 31 March 1998 Cities of London and Westminster 
			 1998 Bishop's Stortford 31 March 1998 Hertford and Stortford 
			 1998 Hatfield 31 March 1998 Welwyn Hatfield 
			 1998 Hitchin 31 March 1998 Hitchin and Harpenden 
			 1998 Market Rasen 31 March 1998 Gainsborough 
			 1998 Chertsey 31 March 1998 Runnymede and Weybridge 
			 1998 Farnham 31 March 1998 South-West Surrey 
			 1998 Oxted 31 March 1998 East Surrey 
			 1998 Lutterworth 31 July 1998 Halborough 
			 1998 Ripon 1 August 1998 Skipton and Ripon 
			 1998 Barnard Castle 31 December 1998 Bishop Auckland 
			 1998 Clerkenwell 31 December 1998 Islington, South and Finsbury 
			 1998 Sheerness 31 December 1998 Canterbury 
			 1998 West Malling 31 December 1998 Tonbridge and Malling 
			 1998 Lytham 31 December 1998 Flyde 
			 1998 Diss 31 December 1998 South Norfolk 
			 1998 Corwen 31 December 1998 Clwyd, South 
			 1998 Felixstowe 31 December 1998 Suffolk Coastal 
			 1998 Haverhill 31 December 1998 Clwyd, South 
			 1998 Saxmundam 31 December 1998 Suffolk Coastal 
			 1998 Stowmarket 31 December 1998 Bury St. Edmonds 
			 1998 Newmarket 31 December 1998 West Suffolk 
			 1998 March 31 December 1998 North-East Cambridgeshire 
			 1998 Saffron Walden 31 December 1998 Saffron Walden 
			 1999 Christchurch 31 March 1999 Christchurch 
			 1999 Abingdon 31 March 1999 Oxford, West and Abingdon 
			 1999 Henley on Thames 31 March 1999 Henley 
			 1999 Windsor 31 March 1999 Windsor 
			 1999 Morley 31 March 1999 Morley and Rothwell 
			 1999 Pudsey 31 March 1999 Pudsey 
			 1999 Stow on the Wold 30 June 1999 Stroud 
			 2000 Ampthill 1 January 2000 Mid Bedfordshire 
			 2000 Biggleswade 1 January 2000 North-East Bedfordshire 
			 2000 Dunstable 1 January 2000 Mid Bedfordshire 
			 2000 Leighton Buzzard 1 January 2000 Bedfordshire, South-West 
			 2000 Lichfield 31 March 2000 Tamworth 
			 2000 Keighley 1 April 2000 Keighley 
			 2000 Keswick 30 April 2000 Workington 
			 2000 Windermere 31 May 2000 Westmorland and Lonsdale 
			 2000 Wigton 31 May 2000 Penrith and the Border 
			 2000 Appleby 31 May 2000 Penrith and the Border 
			 2000 Gravesend 9 June 2000 Gravesham 
			 2000 Wootton Bassett 2 October 2000 North Wiltshire 
			 2000 Abergele 31 December 2000 Clwyd West 
			 2001 Alfreton 1 January 2001 Amber Valley 
			 2001 Ashbourne 1 January 2001 West Derbyshire 
			 2001 Bakewell 1 January 2001 West Derbyshire 
			 2001 Matlock 1 January 2001 West Derbyshire 
			 2001 Leigh 31 March 2001 Leigh 
			 2001 Middleton 31 March 2001 Heywood and Middleton 
			 2001 Leek 31 March 2001 Staffordshire Moorlands 
			 2001 Worcester 31 March 2001 Hereford and Worcester 
			 2001 Warrington Patten Hall 1 April 2001 Warrington, South 
			 2001 Macclesfield Park Green 1 April 2001 Macclesfield 
			 2001 Bideford 30 April 2001 Torridge and West Devon 
			 2001 Exmouth 30 April 2001 East Devon 
			 2001 Kingsbridge 30 April 2001 Totnes 
			 2001 South Molton 30 April 2001 North Devon 
			 2001 Teignmouth 30 April 2001 Teignbridge 
			 2001 Tavistock 30 April 2001 Torridge and West Devon 
			 2001 Axminster 4 May 2001 East Devon 
			 2001 Tiverton 4 May 2001 Tiverton and Honiton 
			 2001 Newquay 30 June 2001 North Cornwall 
			 2001 Southampton (Commercial Road) 31 August 2001 Southampton Itchen 
			 2001 Womborne 1 September 2001 Staffordshire, South 
			 2001 Gillingham 30 September 2001 North Dorset 
			 2001 Bridlington 9 November 2001 East Yorkshire 
			 2001 Brough 9 November 2001 Haltemprice and Howden 
			 2001 Driffield 9 November 2001 East Yorkshire 
			 2001 Hull (Guildhall) 9 November 2001 Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle 
			 2001 Hull (Lowgate) 9 November 2001 Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle 
			 2001 Pocklington 9 November 2001 East Yorkshire 
			 2001 Withensea 9 November 2001 Beverley and Holderness 
			 2001 Arundel 1 December 2001 Arundel and South Downs 
			 2002 Bridgenorth 31 January 2002 Ludlow 
			 2002 Leominster 31 January 2002 Leominster 
			 2002 Fakenham 1 May 2002 North Norfolk 
			 2002 Tunbridge Wells 2 June 2002 Tunbridge Wells 
			 2002 Beaconsfield 1 July 2002 Beaconsfield 
			 2002 Buckingham 1 July 2002 Buckingham 
			 2002 Evesham 30 November 2002 Mid Worcestershire 
			 2003 Thame 31 January 2003 Henley 
			 2003 Droitwitch 21 March 2003 Mid Worcestershire 
			 2003 Machynlleth 21 March 2003 Merionnydd Nant Conwy 
			 2003 Chester Le Street 21 March 2003 North Durham 
			 2003 Rugeley 21 May 2003 Cannock Chase 
			 2003 Lempeter 9 June 2003 Caredigion 
			 2003 Tenby 30 June 2003 Carmarthen, West and South Pembrokeshire 
			 2003 Camberley 30 June 2003 Surrey Heath 
			 2003 Trowbridge 30 September 2003 Westbury 
			 2003 Whitchurch 3 October 2003 North Shropshire 
			 2003 Long Sutton 31 October 2003 South Holland and the Deepings 
			 2003 Caistor 31 December 2003 Gainsborough 
			 2003 Horncastle 31 December 2003 Louth and Horncastle County 
			 2004 Richmond 31 March 2004 Richmond (Yorks) 
			 2004 Stourbridge 23 June 2004 Stourbridge 
			 2005 No closures 
			 2006 Wetherby 7 March 2006 Elmet 
		
	
	(A) Crown courts
	Other than the closure of the satellite courts highlighted in the following table there have been no other Crown court closures.
	
		
			  Courthouse closed Date of closure Constituency 
		
		
			 1997 Surbiton Sessions House (a satellite of Kingston-upon-Thames Crown court) crown court sittings ceased when the new building Kingston-upon-Thames Crown court opened at The Bittoms, Kingston. 1997 (unable to confirm exact date) Kingston and Surbiton 
			 1999 Wellington Town Hall (a satellite of Croydon combined court) was handed back to the landlord and Crown court sittings ceased in 1999. 1999 (unable to confirm exact date) Carshalton and Wallington 
		
	
	(B) County courts
	
		
			  Court Date of closure Constituency 
		
		
			 1995 Amersham 9 January 1995 Chesham and Amersham 
			 1995 Wisbech 29 September 1995 Cambridgeshire, North-East 
			 1995 Market Drayton 27 October 1995 Shropshire, North 
			 1995 Brentwood 29 December 1995 Brentwood and Ongar 
			 1995 Bargoed 29 December 1995 Caerphilly 
			 1995 Barry 29 December 1995 Vale of Glamorgan 
			 1995 Cardigan 29 December 1995 Ceredigion 
			 1995 Llandrindod Wells 29 December 1995 Brecon and Radnorshire 
			 1996 Otley 2 January 1996 Leeds, North-West 
			 1996 Alfreton 16 February 1996 Amber Valley 
			 1996 Ilkeston 16 February 1996 Erewash 
			 1996 Matlock 16 February 1996 Derbyshire, West 
			 1996 Sleaford 16 February 1996 Sleaford and North Hykeham 
			 1996 Spalding 16 February 1996 South Holland and the Deepings 
			 1996 Dover 29 March 1996 Dover 
			 1996 Folkestone 29 March 1996 Folkestone and Hythe 
			 1996 Newton Abbot 29 March 1996 Teignbridge (court was amalgamated with Torquay) 
			 1996 Sittingbourne 29 March 1996 Sittingbourne and Sheppey 
			 1996 St. Austell 29 March 1996 Truro and St. Austell 
			 1996 Chippenham 30 April 1996 Wiltshire, North 
			 1996 Goole 4 November 1996 Brigg and Goole 
			 1997 Ammanford 27 March 1997 Carmarthen, East and Dinefwr 
			 1997 Andover 30 June 1997 Cotswold 
			 1997 Braintree 1 December 1997 Braintree 
			 1997 Bishop's Stortford 1 December 1997 Hertford and Stortford 
			 1997 Alnwick 15 December 1997 Berwick upon Tweed 
			 1997 Blyth 15 December 1997 Blyth Valley 
			 1997 Berwick upon Tweed 15 December 1997 Berwick upon Tweed 
			 1997 Bridlington 24 December 1997 Yorkshire, East 
			 1998 Rochdale 7 September 1998 Rochdale 
			 1998 Holywell 7 September 1998 Delyn 
			 1998 Camborne and Redruth 24 December 1998 Falmouth and Camborne 
			 1998 Hemel Hempstead 24 December 1998 Hemel Hempstead 
			 1998 West Bromwich 24 December 1998 West Bromwich, East 
			 1998 Loughborough 31 December 1998 Loughborough 
			 1999 Corby (local sittings on trial basis to July 1999) 1 March 1999 Corby 
			 1999 Bridgwater 20 December 1999 Bridgwater 
			 2000 Great Yarmouth 31 January 2000 Great Yarmouth 
			 2000 Grays Thurrock 31 January 2000 Thurrock 
			 2000 Lichfield 3 July 2000 Lichfield 
			 2000 Caerphilly 30 November 2000 Caerphilly (unable to confirm) 
			 2001 Workington 2 January 2001 Workington 
			 2002 Chepstow 1 April 2002 Monmouth 
			 2002 Monmouth 1 April 2002 Monmouth

Elections

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many elections there were in each (a) county and (b) constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Bridget Prentice: The information is as follows:
	(a) This information is not held centrally.
	(b) The following parliamentary constituency elections were held in the past 10 years:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 659 + 4 by-elections 
			 1998 0 
			 1999 5 by-elections 
			 2000 8 by-elections 
			 2001 659 + 1 by-election 
			 2002 1 by-election 
			 2003 1 by-election 
			 2004 3 by-elections 
			 2005 646 + 2 by-elections 
			 2006 1 by-election to date

Gender Recognition Act

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent on implementation of the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Bridget Prentice: The Gender Recognition Act received Royal Assent in July 2004, and came into force in April 2005. During that period, a team in the Department for Constitutional Affairs oversaw the implementation process, including the setting up of the statutory Gender Recognition Panel. Other departments and agencies, including particularly the Office of National Statistics, also worked on the implementation process. As accounting structures do not precisely equate expenditure to individual Bills, and because of this multi-agency effort, I cannot provide precise figures for the implementation process; I can however provide these indicative numbers.
	The budget for the Gender Recognition Project for financial year 200405, including costs to other departments, was 908,000; however, this also included the later stages of the parliamentary passage of the Gender Recognition Bill. Of this, between 300,000 and 400,000 was allocated for policy administration and staff costs. In the start-up budget for the Gender Recognition Panel, administrative start-up costs were estimated at 81,000,capital start-up costs were estimated at 128,000, programme start-up costs were estimated at 51,000, and rent start-up costs were estimated at 9,000.
	The estimated cost for implementation by the Office of National Statistics was 200,000; this includes the establishment of the statutory Gender Recognition Register and preparing for the issue of new birth certificates to successful applicants as required by the Act. Costs to the Court Service were estimated at 34,000; this includes updating computer and other systems to allow for the new grounds for the annulment of marriages and the issue thereafter of full Gender Recognition Certificates, as well as appeals to the High Court against decisions of the Gender Recognition Panel. These amounts are included in the total.

Party Funding

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list leaders of political parties represented at Westminster to whom the Lord Chancellor has written seeking views on elements of a reporting regime of loans received further to the Lord Chancellor's statement in the House of Lords on 20 March.

Bridget Prentice: The following leaders of political parties represented in Westminster were written to on 20 March: The Rt. Hon. David Cameron MP Leader of the Conservative Party, The Rt. Hon. Sir Menzies Campbell MP Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, Gerry Adams MP Leader of Sinn Fein, Mark Durkan MP Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, George Galloway MP Leader of Respect-the Unity Coalition, Elfyn Llwyd MP Leader Plaid Cymru, The Rt. Hon. Ian Paisley MP Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Lord Rogan Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Alex Salmond MP Leader of the Scottish National Party and Richard Taylor MP Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern.
	The Lord Chancellor also wrote at the same time to Lord Beaumont of Whitley of the Green Party.